The Denver Broncos opened 2026 with a gut punch, and the message came loud and clear on Monday Night Football: last season’s AFC West breakthrough may have been the exception, not the rule.
Denver was hammered by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, a rough debut that made it obvious the division’s old standard-bearer is back in the mix. The Broncos had no answer for a Chiefs team that leaned into a smash-mouth approach, and the result looked less like a close opener and more like a warning flare for the rest of the AFC West.
For Sean Payton, the loss had to sting on a few levels. After winning the division a year ago, the Broncos learned immediately that repeating that feat will be a much tougher climb if Kansas City keeps playing like this.
The Chiefs’ 2025 collapse, which came with a Patrick Mahomes knee injury and a 6-11 finish, now looks like the outlier. That was the fewest wins for an Andy Reid-coached team since 2012, when he was still with the Philadelphia Eagles.
What made Denver’s setback even harder to ignore was how far the defense fell from last year’s standard. In 2025, the Broncos were one of the league’s best units, finishing second in total yards allowed at 278.2 and rushing yards allowed at 91.1, while ranking third in points allowed at 18.3.
Against Kansas City, that identity disappeared. Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III ran wild for 173 yards, averaged 7.3 yards per carry, and found the end zone on the ground and through the air.
By the end of the night, Denver had given up 31 points and 392 total yards, which was nearly 115 more yards than it allowed per game last season.
“Certainly a slap in the face,” Payton said. “When you come off training camp and your offseason program, it’s one thing to lose in a hard-fought game where you feel like you played well.
I don’t feel like we played up to our standard, and certainly that starts with us as coaches, myself. So yes, it’s disappointing.
That would be a great way to describe it.”
That was the cleanest summary of the Broncos’ night. They didn’t just lose; they looked flat doing it. And if Kansas City really is returning to its usual place atop the division, Denver may have to get comfortable with the idea that 2025 was the rare season when the Chiefs weren’t the deciding factor.
The rematch with Kansas City won’t come until Week 8, but the Broncos can’t afford to dwell on it. Jacksonville comes next in Week 2, followed by the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 and a trip to face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4.
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