Broncos' preseason schedule released

DENVER — The wait is over. For the preseason, that is.

On Wednesday, the NFL announced the league’s 2018 preseason schedule, giving the Broncos a taste of exactly how their upcoming season will look. Here’s how the Denver Broncos preseason schedule will unfold:

Week 1 vs. Minnesota Vikings

In the previous 22 years, this will mark just the second time the Broncos have opened the preseason at home. And oh what a game it would be if it were in the regular season.

The storylines will certainly be intriguing to kick off the season. From Case Keenum going up against the team that let him walk in free agency to Trevor Siemian battling the team he started for the last two seasons to former Broncos fan favorite Kyle Sloter playing in Denver one more time.

Date: Aug. 9-12

Week 2 vs. Chicago Bears

The first half of the Broncos preseason will be at home, taking on the Bears for a third consecutive year in the preseason. Last year, Denver traveled to Chicago in Week 1 and beat the Bears 24-17, but with drastically different rosters for both teams — most notably at quarterback — the game could look significantly different.

Date: Aug. 16-19

Week 3 at Washington Redskins

The Broncos will take the road for the first time on the calendar year by traveling to their last road game of the 2017 season where they fell to the Redskins 27-11 in Week 16. The third preseason game is always the most anticipated game of the year as the starters will likely play at least an entire half of football.

Date: Aug. 23-26

Week 4 at Arizona Cardinals

The Broncos will end the preseason with a familiar opponent as this will be the 12th time in the last 14 years Denver will have played the Cardinals in the preseason.

A quick trip down to Arizona will be a preview of what is to come for the Broncos later in the season as they are scheduled to play the Cardinals on the road in the regular season.

Date: Aug. 30

The NFL is expected to announce their complete regular-season schedule later this month. At that time, the exact dates and times of the preseason games will be released as well. Until then, here’s the Broncos’ 2018 opponents.

Home opponents: Browns, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders, Rams, Seahawks, Steelers, Texans

Away opponents: 49ers, Bengals, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders, Ravens, Jets