The Denver Broncos lost their season opener 31-10 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football in an all-around disappointing and awful display of talent. In a year full of high expectations, the Broncos were seen as Super Bowl contenders heading into week one.
Denver is coming off a season in which they had an AFC Championship appearance and went 14-3, winning the AFC West and the No. 1 seed. Following their performance on Monday, however, it has left fans with a familiar feeling about the Broncos, but this time more disappointing than usual.
The Denver Broncos’ Slow Starts Under Sean Payton
The Broncos are entering their fourth year with Sean Payton as head coach, and despite his success, some flaws remain. One of his biggest issues is the consistent slow starts. Since being hired by Denver in 2023, Payton and the Broncos have a 4-8 record in September but 28-12 in all other months combined.
Broken down by year, Payton started 0-3 in 2023, 1-2 in 2024, and 1-2 in 2025. He finished those seasons with records of 8-9 in 2023, 10-7 in 2024, and 14-3 in 2025.
After their loss to the Chiefs on Monday night, the Broncos now start the 2026 season 0-1, continuing their trend of a slow start. Not only do they start slow record-wise, but they also start slow during games.
In 2025, the Broncos had a scoring margin of +9 in the first quarter, compared to +64 in the fourth quarter. Adding in that Denver and QB Bo Nix led the NFL in game-winning drives, it shows how the team starts slow but delivers in the end. With that history in mind, Payton and the Broncos emphasized a faster start all offseason, but so far not much has changed.
Looking Ahead To The 2026 Season
Although there is some panic among Broncos fans, there’s still reason to believe things will change. Denver wasn’t the only team to have a disappointing and embarrassing week one.
The Los Angeles Rams also played poorly against a division rival in primetime despite having high expectations coming into the season. They lost 27-7 to the Sanfrasico 49ers on Thursday night, and similar to the Broncos, let down their fans in a blowout game.
The Los Angeles Chargers also had a disappointing week one. They lost to the Arizona Cardinals in a game they were heavily favored to win. The 26-14 thumping was considered the biggest upset of the week. The Broncos ultimately join a long list of teams with high expectations heading into the season but disappointed in week one.
Denver heads back home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. Jacksonville is coming off a huge win against the Cleveland Browns, where they dominated the entire game and won 34-10.
Denver faced the Jaguars in Week 15 of the 2025 season, losing 34-20, and now the Broncos look to get revenge this upcoming week in a game they will most likely be underdogs in.
If Denver looks anything like they did against the Chiefs, then there will be some major questions heading their way. Based on what has happened so far in the Sean Payton era, the expectation is a slow start to the game and possibly the season once again, but fans shouldn’t count Denver out till the end.
