DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 01: Rashee Rice #4 of the Kansas City Chiefs is tackled by Alex Singleton #49 and Dondrea Tillman #92 of the Denver Broncos in the first quarter of a game at Empower Field At Mile High on November 01, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Getty
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 24: Justin Bethel #20 of the Miami Dolphins sacks Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) Getty
The Denver Broncos are coming off a huge win against their rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, where they took back the top spot of the AFC West division.
As big as the win against KC was, a team that has big aspirations this season knows they can't linger on that game too long as their attention quickly has to switch to the Carolina Panthers.
GettyDENVER, COLORADO – NOVEMBER 01: Rashee Rice #4 of the Kansas City Chiefs is tackled by Alex Singleton #49 and Dondrea Tillman #92 of the Denver Broncos in the first quarter of a game at Empower Field At Mile High on November 01, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The Panthers have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL this season. One week they're putting up 30+ points and the next their division rival is scoring 43 on them at home.
Bryce Young has shown flashes of a dangerous connection with second-year wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and with a new defensive coordinator on the sidelines for the first time, against Denver, it presents a challenge when game planning on offense.
The game against Carolina has all the signs of a trap game, but possibly the biggest is the Broncos struggles in the 1pm ET game traveling to the East Coast.
Since 2015, the Broncos are 10-16 in the early game slot on Sundays, including playoff games. It's worth noting about half of that time came during a period with no ownership, a quarterback carousel, and a new head coach every couple years.
Under Sean Payton, Denver is 4-3 in those games, which still isn't great. The three losses were brutal and included one of the worst losses in franchise history, the 70-20 nightmare in Miami.
GettyMIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 24: Justin Bethel #20 of the Miami Dolphins sacks Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Apart from a blowout win at home against the Buccaneers in Bo Nix's rookie year, the four wins haven't been pretty when they played in early east coast games. They narrowly beat the Jets by one point, beat the Texans in adefensive battle, and completed a fourth-quarter comeback win against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
The Broncos have been much improved since Payton took over and still are yet to miss the playoffs with Nix. However, the East Coast games are a thorn in Denver's side.
Broncos Country should brace themselves for another game that might not look too good, but if they can get a win and survive their brutal early schedule into the bye week on top of the division, they'll set themselves up to finish the season strong and compete for the top seed in the AFC.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Denver Broncos Struggles in Early Sunday Games Could Be A Problem for Panthers Game appeared first on HEAVY .
