In less than two weeks, the Denver Broncos will kick off their 2026 regular season in a primetime matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. The Broncos had a good season in 2025. Alas, the way things ended made last year’s gridiron campaigns one of the greatest ‘What If?’ seasons in franchise history.
This season, the Broncos are running it back with a roster loaded with continuity. However, they added a few fresh faces on offense at skill positions that hopefully can elevate
that unit’s play to the next level. This year’s team might mostly be the same, but their drive and determination to get better has only been amplified over the offseason.
How Denver fares this year will hinge a lot on the play of third year quarterback Bo Nix. Despite being the fifth quarterback selected in his draft class, the former Auburn turned Oregon standout has arguably been the best of the bunch. In fact, his total production the past two seasons has ranked near the top of all signal callers in the National Football League.
With more than 60 total touchdowns, over 7,700 yards passing, 10 game-winning drives, and 8 fourth quarter comebacks to his name, Nix’s play to date is deserving of praise. And guess what folks? He is going to get better in Year 3. Yesterday after practice, All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II talked about Nix’s growth this offseason and why he is poised for a huge season.
“I think his cerebral approach to the game is off the charts. I always say he’s so poised, but he’s always had that calm demeanor going into his third year just bringing all the guys together offensively and just being a tremendous leader on the team. He’s got that dog attitude to him, and that’s what you want in a quarterback,” stated Surtain.
Though it won’t be all on the shoulders of Nix to get the Broncos back to the promise land. The defense is going to have to step up in a big way and get better in a few facets they struggled with in ‘25. Late last season, Head Coach Sean Payton remarked during numerous press conferences about how the Broncos’ defense needed to step up and force some big turnovers.
After hearing that feedback, the defense answered the call. In multiple December games, the Broncos were able to force two turnovers. Against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round, they were able to amass five—which played a key role in the team’s ability to advance to the AFC Championship game. That was significant progress, but consistency and improvement in that manner is an absolute must.
All offseason, finding a way to create more turnovers has been a focal point of Defensive Vance Coordinator, the rest of his staff, and the players. Last year, Denver was in the bottom third of the league with respect to turnover differential—sporting a -3.
Even so, the Broncos still won 14 games last year. A lot of those being one-score games. With a gauntlet of opponents to start the season, they may have a harder time finding such luck [if you want to call it that] this year. The margin for error is seemingly quite a bit thinner this year. Surtain also gave his thoughts on the approach he and his teammates can create more turnovers.
“I think it’s all about intention. It’s one thing to think about turnovers, but it’s being intentional at the same time. When you’re going to the ball, you’re intentional about stripping the ball out, about intercepting the ball. I think that’s what matters because we all have the ability. We all could get a takeaway, we all could pick the ball, but it’s all about a mindset going in towards a play and actually capitalizing on those opportunities,” remarked Surtain.
There’s no doubt that coming away with more takeaways on a weekly basis will be critical for the Broncos’ chances at defending their AFC West title and making another deep playoff run to chase the franchise’s fourth Lombardi Trophy.
The opportunity to put an offseason’s worth of work in focus comes up on September 14th against the Chiefs in primetime. If all goes as planned, Denver will find a way to rattle Patrick Mahomes and make some big plays that can earn them a notch in the win column to start the season.
