Broncos are ready for Monday night spotlight
KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 25: Bo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos celebrates during an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 25, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesThere's opening the NFL season, and then there's opening on Monday Night Football.
Add the fact that the Denver Broncos are doing so on the road against their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. Don't forget Denver won the AFC West, ending the Chiefs' absurd streak.
Plus, two teams that are getting their starting quarterbacks back from injury.
It doesn't get much better than that for a season opener.
When asked if it gets old playing on Monday Night Football, Bo Nix said:
Absolutely, it doesn't get old. It's very exciting. It means that you are in a really good spot as an organization, but it's also a great responsibility. You get put onMonday Night Footballin Week 1, it means you have something to go out there and prove. We're excited as a team. It's going to be a really big challenge, but one that we are going to respond well to. We just have to go out there and play really hard."
If the Broncos are able to come away with a win on Monday night, that's the perfect start to the season. That's especially true considering the sports world will be watching.
Honestly, at the end of the day, it's exciting to be able to have the opportunity to open up the season,Monday Night Football, all the games are going to be done, college is done, everyone's played Sunday, Sunday night's done," Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton said to the media on Wednesday. The only game that's going to be on is Chiefs-Broncos, and that's what's exciting. Yes, we have an extra 30 hours, as you would say, to wait to be able to get that first game off, but it's exciting, though.
It's exciting. It's a privilege to be able to open up the season onMonday Night Football. They don't just hand that out to anybody. I think that it speaks volumes to where our organization is getting back to and where people view the Broncos. I'm looking forward to watching the boys go out there, us and the boys go out there and put on a show for everyone onMonday Night Football."
It's Chiefs Week pic.twitter.com/uidw39RFWE
- Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 9, 2026
To make matters even more difficult, Denver is playing at one of the most difficult places to play in the NFL. After a disappointing season, there is the expectation that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs return to form. So that could lead to a more raucous Chiefs Kingdom than usual.
They have a passionate fan base," Sutton said when asked what makes Arrowhead Stadium a difficult place to play. They have a very passionate fan base, and they come, they show up, and they show out, and they lean into what makes them them. They say they have the loudest stadium, and it's a good environment to be able to go play in. It's a loud environment, it's a place where they love their team, and their team has had success.
So, they show up for their team, and you just have to go out there and put your best foot forward. It's a divisional game. I think everyone's going to show up for a divisional game, and it's on us just to go in there and execute one play at a time, one quarter at a time, and see where the chips lie at the end."
Another factor could be the extra day of waiting before playing the opener, plus the fact that it's at night.
For me, it's about trusting my training and getting back to having good eyes, having good feet, and having good communication in the huddle and executing at a high level," Nix said. Getting the ball out quick, don't take negative plays and when we get into the red zone, we need to push the ball in and get touchdowns. I know that I just have to do my part, do my role, and we have a lot of guys to where I don't have to do anything necessarily crazy or special. We just let our guys do their thing. I'm excited. Going there will present different challenges, ones is that we will face then."