There’s just something about those Denver Broncos defenses. The “Orange Crush” of the late 1970s rocked pro football with its 3-4 scheme. The “No Fly Zone” brought home a championship in 2015. Mile High has been defined by the likes of Karl Mecklenburg and Champ Bailey, bellows of “in-com-plete!” through the thinning air.Denver enters 2026 with yet another havoc-wreaking D. Vance Joseph’s group notched an absurd 68 sacks last year, 11 more than the No. 2 pass rush. It ranked second in yards allowed and third in points allowed, too. Expect a similar level of dominance with Zach Allen on the line, Nik Bonitto off the edge and Pat Surtain II in the secondary.The other side of the ball should continue to improve under mastermind Sean Payton and new offensive coordinator Davis Webb. J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey front a versatile backfield. Jaylen Waddle joins Troy Franklin and Courtland Sutton to fill out the receiving room. And the offensive line has a first-team All-Pro mauler in Garett Bolles.It’ll all come down to Bo Nix, though. Denver’s quarterback showed resolve throughout his second season. His performance in the AFC divisional round was inspired … and his subsequent injury became a “where were you when?” moment.This hyped Broncos campaign begins under the spotlight with a Week 1 “Monday Night Football” trip to the Kansas City Chiefs, a battle between two AFC West contenders. There are two other primetime spots in the first six weeks, as well as national TV games on Black Friday and Christmas.Keep up with all the news fit to type by following the Broncos on The Athletic. Writer Nick Kosmider is one of the best on the beat.All times listed below are ET.The full 2026 Denver Broncos schedule Wk.MatchupDateTimeNetwork1@ Chiefs Monday, Sept. 14 8:15 p.m. ESPN/ABC 2 Jaguars Sunday, Sept. 20 4:05 p.m. CBS 3 Rams Sunday, Sept. 27 8:20 p.m. NBC 4@ 49ers Sunday, Oct. 4 4:25 p.m. CBS 5@ Chargers Sunday, Oct. 11 4:05 p.m. CBS 6 Seahawks Thursday, Oct. 15 8:15 p.m. Prime 7@ Cardinals Sunday, Oct. 25 4:05 p.m. CBS 8 Chiefs Sunday, Nov. 1 4:25 p.m. CBS 9@ Panthers Sunday, Nov. 8 1:00 p.m. CBS 10 BYE 11 Raiders Sunday, Nov. 22 4:25 p.m. CBS 12@ Steelers Friday, Nov. 27 3:00 p.m. Prime 13 Dolphins Sunday, Dec. 6 4:05 p.m. Fox 14@ Jets Sunday, Dec. 13 1:00 p.m. CBS 15@ Raiders Sunday, Dec. 20 4:25 p.m. CBS 16 Bills Friday, Dec. 25 4:30 p.m. Netflix 17@ Patriots TBA 18 Chargers TBA Times in Eastern. Cable/satellite/streaming baseThe most expansive option for live game coverage is a multichannel plan. That includes streamers like Fubo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, or more traditional providers like DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity. We lay out cord-cutting alternatives for each NFL media partner down below, but there’s a certain peace of mind to the consolidation of pay television.Will Jaylen Waddle bring explosiveness back to Denver Broncos?Derrik KlassenCBSMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, AFC Championship GameEach week, CBS carries games across two Sunday kickoff slots: one at 1 p.m., and another at 4:05 p.m. or the national window at 4:25 p.m. There will be 10 nationwide Sunday doubleheaders this year on CBS. Broadcasts are set by region when there are multiple offerings in a spot.It’s not a clean split, but CBS is known as the primary home of the AFC. The network’s theme music is a certified slapper.Its main pregame show, “The NFL Today,” adds one-time Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and fellow recent retiree Kyle Long to its studio crew. CBS announcers include Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle, while the color commentary rotation stars JJ Watt.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an indoor TV antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local CBS games also stream on Paramount+.FoxMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, NFC Championship GameLike CBS, Fox splits Sunday afternoons between early 1 p.m. action and later 4:05/4:25 p.m. matchups. Its centerpiece is branded as “America’s Game of the Week.” Unlike CBS, Fox has a dancing robot named Cleatus. It’s the nominal network for the NFC as well.Kevin Burkhardt, Joe Davis and Adam Amin are the lead play-by-play voices. Burkhardt pairs with Tom Brady, while Davis calls games alongside Greg Olsen. Amin is partnered with newcomer Drew Brees, who is fresh off his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Some Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Fox Deportes.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local Fox games also stream on Fox One.NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZoneMain window: Sunday afternoon (out-of-market fans)These two are the access points for all non-national matchups that aren’t on regional CBS or Fox.NFL Sunday Ticket has full games. It’s exclusive to YouTube and YouTube TV. Those without a YouTube TV plan can still get NFL Sunday Ticket as a primetime channel through the standard YouTube app.RedZone is the whip-around program that jumps around the slate to cover scoring drives. This is the place for Scott Hanson, “the witching hour” and chaotic octobox split screens. It can be added to NFL Sunday Ticket, and it’s included on some high-end pay TV sports plans.RedZone also lives on NFL+ Premium, which can be bundled with the ESPN Unlimited plan.What you’ll need to watch: An NFL Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube TV or the YouTube app; NFL RedZone access through select pay TV packages, ESPN Unlimited or NFL+ Premium.NBC and PeacockMain window: Sunday nightPlayoffs: 2 wild-card games, 1 divisional gameThis is the faithful home of “Sunday Night Football” each weekend. And because everything has to be confusing, the NBC lineup opens with a Wednesday night season premiere. At least SNF has a consistent 8:20 p.m. start time.Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth, with Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines. Carrie Underwood sings about waiting all day for Sunday night. NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show brings on longtime head coach Mike Tomlin. Telemundo has the telecasts in Spanish.The network has two extra Saturday offerings for Week 17. One is exclusive to Peacock, and both matchups will be announced later in the season. The same goes for NBC’s Week 18 regular-season finale.“Sunday Night Football” is subject to flex scheduling — games can be swapped in and out of the window twice between Weeks 5-10 and any time from Weeks 11-17. This allows executives to pick games with greater playoff implications, though it leaves the actual ticket holders in a bind.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing, or a Peacock account with the live sports plan.ABC and ESPNMain window: Monday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, Super Bowl LXIThe Disney networks combine to cover 17 “Monday Night Football” games. Ten of those are on both ABC and ESPN, with another seven exclusive to the latter. The oft-maligned “Monday Night Football” doubleheader is now a thing of the past.MNF kickoffs have 8:15 p.m. starts, and their schedule flexes can happen any time in Weeks 12-17. The two Saturday ABC/ESPN matchups in Week 18 will be set as the postseason picture sharpens.ESPN is preparing for its first Super Bowl broadcast ever on Feb. 14, 2027. It will be simulcast on ABC.Joe Buck handles play-by-play for MNF. He’s joined by analyst Troy Aikman, plus the sideline duo of Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge. Spanish-language airings can be found on ESPN Deportes. For 11 regular-season games and the Super Bowl, ESPN2 offers an alternate “ManningCast,” in which Super Bowl 50 champ Peyton Manning (and his brother Eli) watch the games with famous fans. Guests have ranged from Bill Belichick to Lil Wayne.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for ABC, or an ESPN Unlimited account.Prime VideoMain window: Thursday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card gameMost weeks begin with “Thursday Night Football,” which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. Those games are behind the Prime paywall, but they’re free over the air in the participants’ home markets. Flex rules around TNF are a bit less hectic, with two allotments between Weeks 13-17.Despite it not being on a Thursday, this is also where you can find the Broncos’ visit to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Black Friday. It starts at 3 p.m. and not in the usual primetime window.Thursdays are called by Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung on sideline duty. Herbstreit loves dogs; Michaels hates vegetables. Prime has Spanish-language coverage and advanced stat broadcast options within its app. Among the pregame and postgame personalities are former All-Pros Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth.What you’ll need to watch: Amazon Prime. TNF is also free on Twitch with a registered account.NFL NetworkThe league-owned media outlet is now under ESPN’s purview, thanks to a blockbuster deal that gave the NFL a 10 percent ownership stake in “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” As of July 30, NFL Network is integrated into the ESPN Unlimited plan. It can also be accessed through NFL+ or NFL+ Premium.NFL Network has five of the international games, plus a pair of Saturday matchups in Week 16 to be revealed at least two weeks prior to Dec. 26. Those two have 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. kickoffs.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or access to NFL+, NFL+ Premium or ESPN Unlimited.NetflixRemember when Netflix was shipping DVDs in red envelopes? Now, the streaming behemoth continues to expand its relationship with the NFL. It has five regular-season games in the upcoming season. The Broncos’ home showdown with the Buffalo Bills is one of two Christmas Day marquees on the streamer. Like TNF on Prime, these Netflix games are over the air in their respective local markets.As reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, new Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly has been tapped as Netflix’s top NFL analyst. He and Noah Eagle (son of CBS’ Ian Eagle) are on the call for the Week 1 export at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.What you’ll need to watch: A Netflix subscription.To round it all out, watching the Broncos’ regular season is going to cost roughly $40-$125 per month if you’re in the Denver market, and $115-$200 per month if you’re outside of it. This includes pay TV and NFL Sunday Ticket average rates, plus the cheapest eligible subscriptions for Netflix, Peacock and Prime. All of those subscriptions are needed to safeguard from in-season schedule flexes. Using Twitch on Thursday nights can cover the Prime fee, at least.Official Broncos single-game franchise records(Through the 2025 season)