The NFL has released the 2024 schedule and the Denver Broncos now have their full 17-game slate in front of them. The speculation about when the team would play which teams can now stop and we can start to talk about things that are confirmed.
The Broncos will hopefully be embarking on a successful new road in 2024 with a brand new quarterback leading the way. How likely is it that the team ends its long playoff drought? You can draw your own conclusions following your first look at the schedule.
Here are some more instant observations:
Denver Broncos 2024 schedule takeaways
Rough start: The Broncos will play three of their first four games on the road. Those opponents are not necessarily a murderer's row, but trips to Seattle, Tampa Bay and New York to face the Jets fill out the first month of the season.
The Broncos opened the season in Seattle in 2022. That game took place on Monday Night Football and was the return to Seattle of Russell Wilson. It was also the head coaching debut of Nathaniel Hackett. It was the beginning of an incredibly bad season.
Speaking of Hackett, he is now the offensive coordinator of the Jets. Sean Payton had some harsh words for the job Hackett did in Denver last season and that led to some bulletin board material that helped the Jets leave Denver with a win last year, one of the Broncos' more embarrassing losses in a long time.
On another note, the schedule reveal with Lewis Hamilton below is absolutely terrific.
"Hey, I'm Lewis Hamilton, and today I'm going to be helping the Broncos reveal their schedule by trying out food from their 2024 opponents." pic.twitter.com/XaOwZxxyGQ
— Sir Lewis Updates (@LH44updates) May 16, 2024
Russell returns in Week 2: The Broncos' home opener will take place in Week 2, a game that was "leaked" before the schedule was released.
This will be a much-anticipated matchup due to Russell Wilson's rocky tenure in Denver. Will he come back to the Mile High City and shove it in Payton's face the same way Hackett did?
Chiefs games are in a good spot: The Broncos won't face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs until Week 10 which is November 10. That gives the team a solid two months to get going and acclimated with the new surroundings of Bo Nix and the players that have been put on this roster.
The Broncos then face the Chiefs in the season finale in Week 18. That could be a game that could mean a lot depending on how the season has gone for the Broncos or it could be completely meaningless with the Chiefs resting all of their starters having wrapped everything up by that point.
Bye week comes extremely late: If there is a major gripe about this schedule for the Broncos, it might be the fact that their bye week won't happen until Week 14 in December. That is the last bye week of the season, so the team will get no rest between the season opener on September 8 and that bye week.
