It has been a long and dreary road for fans of the Denver Broncos since winning Super Bowl 50. It seems like that was the last time Broncos Country was able to let out a prolonged sense of excitement.
Sure, there have been some small victories since then, but those have been very few and far between as the team has not made the postseason since. Sean Payton and his staff hope that things start to turn around this coming season with a new quarterback in the fold, but most analysts predict it will take some more time.
The schedule for the upcoming season is now here and many have already taken a crack at how the team will fare in 2024. But it is not an easy schedule. The team opens with three of its first four games on the road and later in the season has back-to-back games against the two teams that met in last year's AFC Championship Game, Baltimore and Kansas City.
For the Broncos to have success in 2024, they are going to have to buckle down and win some games against opponents that they should be in a position to beat based on how things currently stand. You'll notice that protecting home field is a common pattern here.
Denver Broncos must-win games in 2024
Week 5 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The Broncos have a difficult stretch to open the season, playing at Seattle in Week 1, at Tampa Bay in Week 3 and at New York Jets in Week 4. The first game on the schedule that screams "must win" comes in Week 5.
Last season, the Broncos finally won a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, snapping a 16-game skid against them. But lost in the shuffle is the team's 8-game losing streak against their most-hated rival, the Raiders, which dates back to 2019.
In many ways that losing streak is worse because the Chiefs have been Super Bowl contenders for the last several years while the Raiders have just been the Raiders. The Broncos need to get this monkey off of their back and if they could do that this early in the season it could create a ton of momentum to go forward with.
Week 8 vs. Carolina Panthers
You have to beat the bad teams at home in the NFL and the Panthers are still a bad team. The Panthers have never won a game in Denver (0-4) and this would be a bad time for them to start.
If the Broncos don't win this game, we won't be able to take them too seriously this season.
Week 15 vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are not necessarily a bad team, but they are not necessarily a good team either. This game is later in the season, taking place in mid-December, but the key is that the Broncos will be coming off of their bye week.
The bye week is already late for the Broncos (the last bye week of the season) and they will have already played 13 games to this point. They need to use the week off to get some well-deserved rest but be ready to come out firing on all cylinders at home against Indy.
The good teams win after the bye week, just ask Andy Reid.
