ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After a training camp filled with more than their share of quarterback drama, the Denver Broncos will still exit the preseason with a schedule befitting the defending Super Bowl champion waiting for them. They open Sept. 8 with a Super Bowl 50 rematch with the Carolina Panthers, one of their five prime-time games. In April, before we knew what we know now, the pick was an 11-5 season for the Broncos. And guess what? Nothing’s changed in the summer sun. The defense is still elite enough to overcome most questions the Broncos have on offense, Von Miller is poised for a monster season and the Broncos believe they’re going to be better than most people outside the Rocky Mountain region believe they will be.
Week 1: Thursday, Sept. 8, vs. Carolina Panthers, 8:30 p.m. ET
The Panthers haven’t played in Denver since 2004, a 20-17 Broncos win. This will be a game both teams have spent weeks getting ready for, so it would be stunner if they each don’t get the other’s best swing. Record: 1-0.
Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 18, vs. Indianapolis Colts, 4:25 p.m. ET
The Colts' last visit to Denver -- an Indianapolis playoff win to close out the 2014 season -- started the wheels in motion that put Gary Kubiak on the Broncos' sideline instead of John Fox. The Broncos' defense certainly gets challenged in season’s first two weeks. Record: 2-0.
Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 25, at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. ET
The Broncos might have the most difficult trifecta to open the season of anyone in the league. Andy Dalton was not at quarterback for the Bengals in the Broncos' overtime win in Denver last December, and that could make just enough of the difference in this one. Record: 2-1.
Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 2, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4:05 p.m. ET
This will be the Broncos’ first in-person look at Buccaneers since 2004, or the year Champ Bailey and John Lynch signed with the Broncos. The Broncos have been tough on just about every quarterback they’ve faced since the opening of the 2015 season, but young players like quarterback Jameis Winston have struggled even more. Record: 3-1.
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 9, vs. Atlanta Falcons, 4:05 p.m. ET
There is bit of a coaching tree at work in this one, given Kubiak spent so much time on Mike Shanahan’s staff with the Broncos and the guy calling plays on offense for the Falcons just happens to be Shanahan’s son, Kyle. Record: 4-1.
Week 6: Thursday, Oct. 13, at San Diego Chargers, 8:25 p.m. ET
Short week and on the road after the Broncos' tough opening stretch. This will be the first real test of roster maturity for a team that has a championship core, but also got younger in spots this offseason as the entire eight-player draft class figures to make the roster. The Broncos have won nine of the past 10 against the Chargers. Record: 5-1.
Week 7: Monday, Oct. 24, vs. Houston Texans, 8:30 p.m. ET
There is potential for some defensive fireworks in this one as the Texans’ offensive line was hit with injuries in the preseason and the Broncos' defenders still remember Brock Osweiler said (excited about a $72 million deal or not) that the Texans gave him the best chance to succeed. And in a bit of a scheduling quirk, the Broncos will have 11 days between games -- almost another full bye week. Record: 6-1.
Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 30, vs. San Diego Chargers, 4:05 p.m. ET
Not only will the Broncos face the Chargers twice in a three-game span, but each of those games will come during a short week, this time after a Monday Night Football turnaround. Record: 7-1.
Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 6, at Oakland Raiders, 8:30 p.m. ET
The Raiders, in many ways, have been the "it" team of the offseason, or at least the "it" team in the AFC West, with many saying this could be the year the Broncos' string of five consecutive division championships ends because the Raiders are good enough to end it. Record: 7-2.
Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 13, at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. ET
This will be the Broncos' first trip to New Orleans since 2004. And Drew Brees, indoors, will be one of the toughest tests for the Broncos' secondary all season. The question will be whether the Saints can slow the Broncos’ run game on the turf as well. Record: 8-2.
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 27, vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. ET
The Chiefs were the team that finally pushed an injured Peyton Manning out of the lineup last season. Coming out of a bye, however, you would expect the Broncos would be close to their best. Record: 9-2.
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 4, at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET
There seems to be one of these kinds of games waiting each December -- the early-kickoff game in the East. Another test of the Broncos’ maturity, but the Jaguars might have enough athleticism on the roster to pull off the upset. Record: 9-3.
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 11, at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. ET
Having added Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray to the backfield in the offseason to go with Marcus Mariota at quarterback, the Titans figure to give the Broncos one of the biggest tests of their run defense all season. Record: 10-3.
Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 18, vs. New England Patriots, 4:25 p.m. ET
This is the sixth consecutive regular season the Patriots and Broncos have faced each other, and they have played each other twice in the playoffs in that span as well. New England hasn’t won in Denver since 2011, Fox’s first season as the team’s head coach. Record: 10-4.
Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 25, at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:30 p.m. ET
A tall order here, to get through the holiday week with the prospect of a road game on Christmas night. The final three weeks of the regular season should have the Broncos' attention, however, with the Patriots, Chiefs and Raiders. Record: 10-5.
Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 1, vs. Oakland Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET
This will be the game that signifies if the Broncos were right about their prospects in the sunshine-and-rainbows season that is training camp. They have said throughout the summer they fully expect to be in the Super Bowl conversation once again. By the time they get to New Year’s Day, they will absolutely know if they were right. Record: 11-5.