Sean Payton reacts to the Denver Broncos' 2024 schedule

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The NFL released its 2024 schedule last week, and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton shared his thoughts for the first time on Thursday.

“The first thing I look for is weather,” Payton told reporters. “There are two weather possibilities: at Tampa and then Cincinnati.”

Denver’s road game against the Cincinnati Bengals is scheduled for Dec. 29. While a snowglobe game is possible, Cincinnati typically has precipitation about 25% of days in late December, and the precipitation is usually minor.

But December in Cincinnati is cold. Depending on the kickoff time, the Broncos should expect the temperature to be right around freezing.

The Broncos’ road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is scheduled for Sept. 22. Hot and muggy weather is a virtual guarantee, but heavy rain could also be a factor; September is the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The Broncos’ last trip to Tampa was in 2016. Denver’s 27-7 win produced two memorable details.

1. First-round pick Paxton Lynch made his debut.
2. A fourth-quarter thunderstorm produced a 90-minute weather delay.

That game was played on Oct. 2, about a week later than Denver’s 2024 trip.

The Broncos play four games on the East Coast this year. Payton said the team asked the league to schedule two of those games consecutively. Their wish was granted. After the Broncos play in Tampa, they’ll head north to play the New York Jets.

“There’s a good chance after we play Tampa, we might practice somewhere else on the East Coast,” Payton said. “We’re sorting through where we might go before we then play the Jets.”

When Payton looked at the schedule, he broke it into quarters. In the first four-game stretch, the Broncos play three games on the road. In the second four-game stretch, they play three at home. The schedule isn’t quite balanced.

“Ultimately, it is what it is,” Payton said. “We go play them.”

The Broncos also have a quirk in their schedule. We’ve known for months that Denver will host the Indianapolis Colts—and we now know that the game will be played in mid-December—but the league scheduled a second game between the Broncos and Colts: The preseason opener in Indianapolis.

Payton isn’t concerned about giving the Colts a sneak peek before they play the game that counts.

“What’s the purpose of preseason Week 1?” Payton asked. “I would say it’s to evaluate your roster, it’s to find the right players. It’s not scheme-driven. It would be different if it was Indy, and then we opened in Indy a week or two [later]. So this has been the fifth or sixth time it’s happened. [The Saints] had joint practices with teams that we’ve played in the regular season. So I don’t think that’s an issue.”

The final piece of recent schedule news is that the Broncos will host the Green Bay Packers for a joint practice ahead of their Aug. 18 preseason game. The practice will be open to the public.

Payton said that is the only joint practice that is currently scheduled.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur also scheduled a practice with the Baltimore Ravens. He opted for two one-day joint practice sessions instead of a single two-day session because he thinks the second day isn’t as productive.

“Sometimes it becomes a wrestling match out there or an MMA fight,” LaFleur said of the second day. “So we’re trying to avoid that at all costs and just get good quality work.”

Could Payton see things similarly and schedule another joint practice? Maybe, but we don’t know yet.

Click here for our FULL, game-by-game breakdown of the Broncos’ 2024 schedule.