The Broncos 2016 schedule is hot garbage

Your Denver Broncos are World Champions. The excitement of winning a Super Bowl never entirely wears off. No matter what happens from here, the 2015 Broncos will always possess the Lombardi Trophy from the one and only 50th Big Game. Nobody can ever take that away. The thrill of Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII has never dulled and this one certainly won’t fade quickly either. Still, the NFL seems to be insistent on taking at least some of the wind out of Broncos Country’s sails with a 2016 regular season schedule that is hot garbage.

The Broncos will he highlighted to kick off the 2016 NFL season on Thursday, Sept. 8, as Super Bowls champions traditionally are. However, they will face the same opponent that they did in the Super Bowl which is very unusual. Cam Newton and the Panthers will have plenty to play for after the way the Broncos wiped the turf with them at Levis Stadium so for fans of the NFL, in general, this pairing makes sense. It’s certainly a better match-up than Broncos Vs. Texans would have been. Brock Osweiler alone isn’t going to make Houston not suck.

The NFL got this game right. It should be pretty good and provide plenty of juicy story lines such as, “Will Cam Newton stick around for the post-game press conference this time?” The Panthers will be the first of three NFC South opponents Denver will face next season. The opener will be one of five National prime-time tilts for the 2016 Broncos.

Weeks two and three the Broncos get Indy at home and travel to Cincy. The Cincy game kicks off at eleven AM mountain time. Eleven o’clock games are a total drag.

Normally the early NFL slate (which usually involves over twice as many games as the afternoon slate) is when Denver fans flip on NFL Red Zone and half-watch the rest of the league while tracking their fantasy players and getting a few honey-dos wrapped up around the house before signing off for the day when the Broncos come on. When Denver plays the eleven o’clock game the whole day is pretty well shot in the ass. That all-too-valuable morning period gets filled up and there’s not a decent time available the rest of the day for getting the lawn mowed and stuff. It’s only supposed to happen once or twice per season.

Two o’clock PM is the ideal time for a Broncos game but sadly only seven of the games they play in 2016 will kick off then. Five will kick off at 6:15 and four will begin at eleven – at Cincy, at New Orleans, at Jacksonville and at Tennessee. Whose idea was it for us to play the NFC and AFC South, anyway? The Jacksonville and Tennessee games come back-to-back, in weeks thirteen and fourteen. Ugh. Talk about bad football. And we have to tune in early to watch ‘em.

Naturally, the Broncos have to play New England again. Sure, it’s at home for the second year in a row, but still … how do these mofos wind up on our schedule every season? It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t see the Dolphins, Bills or Jets on there. Last I checked the Pats and Broncos are in separate divisions and Peyton Manning has retired so why does the NFL continue to force these two teams to play each other every friggin’ year?

Aside from the normal six inter-divisional games, the Broncos will play versus the Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers they will play the Colts and Patriots, three NFC South teams and three AFC South teams – including the Texans who they are getting on a Monday night. A Monday night? Osweiler or no Osweiler, Houston is a putrid team. Granted, the Texans at least know who their quarterback will be to start the season and that’s more than the Broncos can say – but it’s still ridiculous to pit that lowly squad against the World Champions in prime time.

Speaking of prime time, one of Denver’s five prime-time tilts in 2016 occurs versus the Chiefs on Sunday, December 25th. Yes, that’s ON CHRISTMAS! Normally Christmas is set aside for a handful of NBA games. For the NFL to move in on the Holy Day is beyond blasphemous. And Christmas being on a Sunday this year doesn’t explain it away. There are only three games scheduled that day. They could easily have scheduled around it.

Christmas is not a day for watching football. If anything it’s a day for forgetting all about the game and focusing on family. I know that I am not the only husband/father dreading having to explain to his wife that there’s a Broncos game on friggin’ Christmas.

All in all the 2016 Broncos schedule is the lousiest one I can remember. It stacks up mostly in their favor since there are so many patsies on the list but it’s not a fan-friendly schedule at all. Sure, I am still looking forward to football season but it seems as though the NFL decided to punish Broncos fans for the unexpected success they experienced last year.