Schedule As the result of winning
Super Bowl 50, the Broncos earned the right to host the
Week 1 kickoff game on Thursday, September 8, in a
Super Bowl rematch versus the
Carolina Panthers. The Broncos' schedule was announced on April 14.
Note: Intra-division opponents are in
bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Carolina Panthers NFL Kickoff game In a rematch of
Super Bowl 50, the defending champion Broncos played host to the
Carolina Panthers, in the
opening kickoff game. This was the Panthers' first visit to Denver since . Following a fumble on the Broncos' initial possession, the Panthers grabbed the early lead, with a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Cam Newton to wide receiver
Kelvin Benjamin. The Broncos responded early in the second quarter, with a 28-yard touchdown by fullback
Andy Janovich on his first rushing attempt. The Panthers then re-claimed the lead, with Newton rushing for a 2-yard touchdown, in an 18-play, 89-yard drive that took nine minutes off the clock. After the Broncos' offense went three-and-out, the Panthers added to their lead just before halftime, with a 44-yard field goal by placekicker
Graham Gano. Following a scoreless third quarter, the Broncos pulled to within a 17–14 deficit on the first play of the fourth quarter, with quarterback
Trevor Siemian connecting on a 25-yard touchdown pass to running back
C. J. Anderson. On the second play of the Panthers' next drive, Newton was intercepted by cornerback
Chris Harris Jr. at the Panthers' 38-yard line, giving the Broncos excellent field position. Ten plays later, the Broncos grabbed their first lead of the game, with Anderson rushing up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown at the 9:30 mark of the fourth quarter. The Panthers methodically marched down the field, hoping to re-claim the lead, but had to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Gano to pull to within a 21–20 deficit with 4:25 remaining.
Week 2: vs. Indianapolis Colts The two teams exchanged field goals in the first quarter, with a 48-yarder by
Colts' placekicker
Adam Vinatieri and a 23-yarder by Broncos' placekicker
Brandon McManus. A 4-yard touchdown run by running back
C. J. Anderson gave the Broncos the lead early in the second quarter. Vinatieri and McManus once again exchanged field goals late in the first half, with a 52-yarder by Vinatieri and a 43-yarder by McManus just before halftime. The Colts took the initial possession of the second half and tied the game at 13–13 midway through the third quarter, with running back
Robert Turbin rushing for a 5-yard touchdown. However, the Broncos took the lead for good later in the third quarter, with a 33-yard field goal by McManus. On the Colts' next possession, quarterback
Andrew Luck was intercepted by Broncos' cornerback
Aqib Talib, who scampered 46 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 23–13 lead early in the fourth quarter. Following an exchange of punts, the Colts narrowed the Broncos' lead, with Luck connecting with running back
Frank Gore on a 7-yard touchdown pass with four minutes remaining in the game. The Broncos then increased their lead to 26–20 on the first play after the two-minute warning, with McManus' fourth field goal of the game—a 35-yarder—and in the process, forced the Colts to burn all three of their timeouts. The Colts had one last offensive possession, hoping for a game-winning drive, however, on the very first play from scrimmage, Luck was strip-sacked by Broncos' linebacker
Von Miller, and linebacker
Shane Ray returned the fumble 15 yards for a game-clinching touchdown (with a two-point conversion pass from quarterback
Trevor Siemian to wide receiver
Demaryius Thomas).
Notes Demaryius Thomas passed
Ed McCaffrey for fourth-place on the Broncos' all-time career receptions list – at the time, Thomas only trailed
Lionel Taylor,
Shannon Sharpe and
Rod Smith, and surpassed Taylor in
2017. This was the only game during the season in which the Broncos scored 30 or more points.
Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals The
Bengals grabbed the lead on their opening possession, with running back
Jeremy Hill rushing for a 3-yard touchdown. The Broncos drove down to near the goal line on their second possession, which was aided by two Bengals' defensive penalties, however, the Broncos were forced to settle for a 20-yard field goal by placekicker
Brandon McManus. Following a Bengals' fumble on a punt return near midfield, the Broncos took the lead, with quarterback
Trevor Siemian connecting on a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Emmanuel Sanders. Following an exchange of punts, the Bengals went back ahead, with Hill rushing for his second touchdown from 4 yards out. The Broncos responded, with Siemian throwing another touchdown pass to Sanders from 7 yards out. However, the extra point attempt was blocked. Following a scoreless third quarter, a 34-yard field goal by placekicker
Mike Nugent gave the Bengals a 17–16 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Broncos then assembled a 13-play, 82-yard drive, culminating with Siemian firing a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end
John Phillips (with an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt). After the Bengals went three-and-out on their next possession, in which wide receiver
A. J. Green dropped a critical third-down pass play, the Broncos added to their lead, with Siemian throwing his fourth touchdown of the game—a 55-yarder to wide receiver
Demaryius Thomas with 4:32 remaining in the game. The Broncos' defense stood their ground on the Bengals' last two possessions.
Notes Trevor Siemian became the first quarterback in
NFL history to throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in a first career road start. With linebacker
Shane Ray recording three sacks, this was the first time in franchise history in which the Broncos had two different players record 3+ sacks in a single game; linebacker
Von Miller achieved three sacks vs. the
Indianapolis Colts during the previous week.
Week 4: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Broncos made their first visit to Tampa Bay since
2004. Cornerback
Aqib Talib, who made his return to Tampa Bay where he played for the Buccaneers from 2008 to 2012, intercepted
Buccaneers' quarterback
Jameis Winston on the third play of the opening drive. The Broncos immediately capitalized, with quarterback
Trevor Siemian throwing an 11-yard touchdown to wide receiver
Demaryius Thomas. On the Buccaneers' next drive, a 7-yard touchdown run by Winston tied the game, which would be the Buccaneers' only scoring play of the game. Following another interception of Winston by Talib, the Broncos re-claimed the lead, with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back
C. J. Anderson. With 3:25 remaining in the first half, Siemian injured his non-throwing shoulder when he was sacked by defensive tackle
Clinton McDonald, and backup quarterback
Paxton Lynch, the team's first-round
draft selection, took over in his
NFL debut. Placekicker
Brandon McManus added two field goals—a 38-yarder just before halftime and a 24-yarder midway through the third quarter. Lynch later threw his first touchdown pass—a 5-yarder to wide receiver
Emmanuel Sanders—which put the game out of reach. At the 6:52 mark of the fourth quarter, the game was delayed for an hour and a half due to a severe weather threat in the
Tampa area.
Week 5: vs. Atlanta Falcons The
Falcons, making their first visit to Denver since , took a 10–0 lead in the first quarter, with running back
Devonta Freeman rushing for a 1-yard touchdown, followed by a 46-yard field goal by placekicker
Matt Bryant. The Broncos, with quarterback
Paxton Lynch, playing in place of the injured
Trevor Siemian, punted on their first two possessions, and got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, with a 35-yard field goal by placekicker
Brandon McManus. Following an exchange of punts, a 33-yard field goal by Bryant just after the two-minute warning extended the Falcons' lead, in a drive that took seven minutes off the clock. In the third quarter, Lynch was intercepted by Falcons' safety
Ricardo Allen at the Broncos' 42-yard line, and the Falcons capitalized, with quarterback
Matt Ryan connecting on a 31-yard touchdown pass to running back
Tevin Coleman to extend to a 20–3 lead. On the Falcons' next drive, Broncos' safety
T. J. Ward forced a fumble off wide receiver
Mohamed Sanu at midfield, though the Broncos had to settle for a 46-yard field goal by McManus early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons responded, with a 25-yard field goal by McManus to extend to a 23–6 lead with 8:24 remaining in the game. Hoping for a rally, the Broncos went on a 16-play, 78-yard drive, culminating in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to wide receiver
Demaryius Thomas with 2:43 remaining. After an unsuccessful onside kick attempt, the Broncos' defense forced a three-and-out, but were forced to use all of their team timeouts prior to the two-minute warning. The Broncos advanced 44 yards in 7 plays, and pulled to within a 23–16 deficit, with a 45-yard field goal by McManus with only 19 seconds remaining. However, another onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, sealing the win for the Falcons.
Notes Demaryius Thomas became the third player in Broncos' franchise history to achieve 50 career touchdowns; the other two are
Shannon Sharpe (55) and
Rod Smith (68).
Week 6: at San Diego Chargers The
Chargers scored took a 10–0 lead, with quarterback
Philip Rivers connecting on a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Hunter Henry, followed in the second quarter by a 37-yard field goal by placekicker
Josh Lambo. Chargers' return specialist
Travis Benjamin fumbled a punt return at the Chargers' 11-yard line, however, the Broncos did not gain any yardage, and were forced to settle for a 29-yard field goal by placekicker
Brandon McManus. Three third-quarter field goals by Lambo—from 21, 31 and 32 yards out—added to the Chargers' lead. The middle score occurred after a fumble by Broncos' wide receiver
Jordan Taylor. McManus missed wide-right on a 56-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos' defense forced a Chargers' punt that backed up the Broncos to their own 3-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Broncos' offensive tackle
Russell Okung was penalized for holding in the end zone that resulted in a safety, extending the Chargers' lead to 21–3. On the ensuing free kick, the Chargers committed another special teams turnover, with guard
Kenny Wiggins fumbling the kick near midfield. The Broncos capitalized on this turnover, with a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Trevor Siemian to wide receiver
Bennie Fowler. The Broncos' defense forced a three-and-out on the Chargers' next possession with six minutes remaining in the game. On the sixth play of the Broncos' next drive, Siemian connected with running back
C. J. Anderson on a 20-yard touchdown, however, another costly holding penalty on Okung negated the scoring play. Two plays later, Siemian connected on a pass completion to wide receiver
Demaryius Thomas to the Chargers' 13-yard line, however, Chargers' linebacker
Jatavis Brown forced a fumble off Thomas, which was recovered by cornerback
Craig Mager, ending the drive with 3:35 remaining. The Broncos' defense forced another three-and-out, but used all three of their team timeouts in the process. A 46-yard field goal by McManus with 32 seconds remaining pulled the Broncos to within a 21–13 deficit. The Broncos recovered the onside kick at their own 46-yard line, however, four plays later, a desperation hail mary pass by Siemian fell short of the end zone.
Week 7: vs. Houston Texans The Broncos' defense surrendered only three field goals by
Texans' placekicker
Nick Novak, and spoiled quarterback
Brock Osweiler's return to Denver, allowing only 131 passing yards. Osweiler spent the previous four seasons (2012–2015) as
Peyton Manning's backup quarterback, and started seven games in
2015 while Manning was injured. The Broncos scored three offensive touchdowns: a 4-yard pass from quarterback
Trevor Siemian to
Demaryius Thomas, plus two rushing touchdowns, one from
C. J. Anderson, and the other from rookie
Devontae Booker. Placekicker
Brandon McManus also added two field goals.
Notes This was the first of two games in which the Broncos wore their alternate navy blue uniforms – the other was
Week 15 vs. the New England Patriots. This was Broncos'
head coach Gary Kubiak's first victory against the Texans, for whom he coached from 2006 to 2013, as well as Kubiak's return to the sideline following a
health scare that forced him to miss the team's Week 6 loss to the
San Diego Chargers. During halftime, three former Broncos were inducted into the
Ring of Fame: Placekicker
Jason Elam, who played with the Broncos from 1993 to 2007 and is the franchise's all-time leader in field goals (395) and points scored (1,786); defensive lineman
Simon Fletcher, who played with the Broncos from 1985 to 1995 and is the franchise's all-time leader in
sacks (97.5) and consecutive games played (172); safety
John Lynch, who played four seasons with the Broncos from 2004 to 2007.
Week 8: vs. San Diego Chargers For the second time in a three-week span, the Broncos faced their
AFC West rivals, the
San Diego Chargers. Following a 28-yard field goal by placekicker
Brandon McManus on the Broncos' opening possession, a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Philip Rivers to tight end
Antonio Gates gave the Chargers their only lead of the game. The Broncos' defense then proceeded to frustrate the Chargers' offense, including three interceptions of Rivers. In the second quarter, Broncos' cornerback
Bradley Roby returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown, and Chargers' placekicker
Josh Lambo later missed on a 44-yard field goal attempt. On the Chargers' opening possession of the second half, the Broncos took advantage of a Rivers' interception deep in Chargers' territory, and added to their lead, with running back
Devontae Booker rushing for a 3-yard touchdown. Rivers subsequently threw another interception deep in Chargers' territory, his third of the game; however, a fumble by Booker gave the football back to the Chargers. Thirteen plays and 98 yards later, the Chargers narrowed the Broncos' lead, with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to wide receiver
Travis Benjamin. Broncos' linebacker
Shaquil Barrett blocked the extra point attempt, keeping the score at 17–13. The Broncos responded early in the fourth quarter, with running back
Juwan Thompson rushing for a 1-yard touchdown. On the Broncos' next possession, quarterback
Trevor Siemian was intercepted by Chargers' cornerback
Casey Hayward, who returned the football 16 yards for a touchdown. The initial two-point conversion pass from Rivers to Gates was successful, however, it was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty on Gates. Rivers' second attempt intended for tight end
Hunter Henry was incomplete, keeping the score at 24–19 with 8:10 remaining in the game. Two long pass plays from Siemian—one to tight end
Virgil Green for 31 yards and another to wide receiver
Demaryius Thomas for 40 yards—gave the Broncos a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. However, the Chargers' defense forced the Broncos to settle for a 22-yard field goal by McManus. The Chargers attempted a rally, and with 2:54 remaining, the Chargers had a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, but Rivers threw four consecutive incompletions, the last of which was knocked away by Broncos' cornerback
Lorenzo Doss at the goal line. While backed up deep in their own territory, the Broncos' offense went three-and-out, and were forced to punt, giving the Chargers one last possession. The Broncos' defense stood their ground, not allowing the Chargers to advance past midfield.
Week 9: at Oakland Raiders The
Raiders dominated the time of possession by a 2–1 margin, and though the Broncos' defense limited Raiders' quarterback
Derek Carr to 184 yards passing, running back
Latavius Murray amassed 114 rushing yards as well as three touchdowns. The Broncos trailed 23–13 with eight minutes remaining in the game, and attempted a rally, however, quarterback
Trevor Siemian was strip-sacked by Raiders' linebacker
Khalil Mack, giving the Raiders a short field. A 1-yard touchdown by Murray extended the lead, a drive that was kept alive by one defensive holding and two pass interference penalties on Broncos' cornerback
Chris Harris, Jr. On the Broncos' next drive, Siemian connected with running back
Kapri Bibbs on a 69-yard touchdown pass to pull to within a 30–20 deficit, but the Broncos got no closer.
Week 10: at New Orleans Saints The Broncos, making their first visit to New Orleans since , jumped out to a 10–0 lead. First, quarterback
Trevor Siemian connected with wide receiver
Jordan Taylor on a 14-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown was initially ruled as an incomplete pass, but overturned by a replay challenge. Following an interception of
Saints' quarterback
Drew Brees by cornerback
Darian Stewart, placekicker
Brandon McManus added a 50-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The Broncos were attempting to add to their lead just before halftime, however Siemian was intercepted by cornerback
Sterling Moore, and the Saints quickly advanced 50 yards in only 29 seconds, culminating in a 30-yard field goal by placekicker
Wil Lutz. Early in the third quarter, the Saints tied the game, with Brees connecting with wide receiver
Willie Snead on a 3-yard touchdown pass. On the Broncos' second possession of the second half, Siemian was intercepted by safety
Kenny Vaccaro, and four plays later, another touchdown pass from Brees to Snead from 5 yards out gave the Saints a 17–10 lead. On the Broncos next drive, McManus missed wide left on a 42-yard field attempt early in the fourth quarter. Two plays into the Saints' next possession, Broncos' cornerback
Bradley Roby forced a fumble off wide receiver
Michael Thomas, which was recovered by Stewart at the Saints' 27-yard line. Seven plays later, the Broncos tied the game, with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Siemian to wide receiver
Demaryius Thomas. After forcing the Saints to go three-and-out, the Broncos drove down the field, but had to settle on a 28-yard field goal by McManus. The Broncos' defense forced another fumble deep in Saints' territory, but had to settle on a 37-yard field goal by McManus with 2:50 remaining in the game, while forcing the Saints to burn the last two of their three team timeouts. The Saints then drove 75 yards in only six plays, culminating in Brees throwing a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Brandin Cooks to tie the game at 23–23 with 1:30 remaining in the game. However, Lutz's extra point attempt was blocked by
Justin Simmons, and
Will Parks scooped up the football and ran to the end zone for a defensive two-point conversion. The Saints sideline claimed that Parks may have stepped out of bounds, but the initial ruling on the field was upheld after an instant replay review. The Saints' onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, sealing the controversial win for the Broncos.
Week 12: vs. Kansas City Chiefs After a scoreless first quarter, the Chiefs took a 9–0 lead midway through the second quarter. After Broncos quarterback
Trevor Siemian was strip-sacked near the goal line, offensive tackle
Russell Okung was tackled in the end zone trying to recover the fumble and the Chiefs were awarded a safety; running back
Tyreek Hill then returned the ensuing free kick 86 yards for a touchdown. A 33-yard field goal by placekicker
Brandon McManus just after the two-minute warning put the Broncos on the scoreboard. The Broncos grabbed the lead midway through the third quarter, with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Siemian to wide receiver
Jordan Taylor. The Chiefs responded on their next possession, with Hill rushing for a 3-yard touchdown. The drive was extended after the Chiefs accepted an illegal formation penalty on the Broncos that nullified a 35-yard field goal by placekicker
Cairo Santos. The Broncos re-claimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter, with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Siemian to wide receiver
Emmanuel Sanders. After forcing a Chiefs' punt, the Broncos were attempting to run out the clock after earning a first down with 3:31 remaining in the game. Two plays later, and after the Chiefs had used all of their team timeouts, the Broncos extended their lead to 24–16, with a 76-yard touchdown pass from Siemian to wide receiver
Bennie Fowler. However, the Broncos' defense was unable to keep the Chiefs out of the end zone. Quarterback
Alex Smith methodically engineered a game-tying 13-play, 75-yard drive, with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Hill, coupled with a two-point conversion pass to tight end
Demetrius Harris. The play was initially ruled down at the 1-yard line with 15 seconds remaining, but overturned by instant replay, sending the game to overtime. The Broncos won the overtime coin toss, and the teams exchanged field goals on their initial possessions: a 44-yarder by
Brandon McManus followed by a 37-yarder by Santos. The Broncos' next overtime possession commenced with 4:19 remaining, and drove to as far as the Chiefs' 44-yard line. Instead of a short punt, Broncos' head coach
Gary Kubiak elected to send McManus onto the field for a potential game-winning 62-yard field goal, however, McManus attempt was both short and wide left, giving the Chiefs possession at the Broncos' 48-yard line with 1:08 remaining. Four plays later, and with five seconds remaining, Santos kicked the game-winning 34-yard field goal for the Chiefs, which initially caromed off the left upright.
Week 14: at Tennessee Titans The Broncos' defense limited
Titans' quarterback
Marcus Mariota to only 88 yards passing on 6 of 20 attempts; however, the Titans controlled the first half time of possession by a 2–1 margin and led 10–0 in the first quarter. Running back
DeMarco Murray rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and placekicker
Ryan Succop kicked a 53-yard field goal; the latter scoring play occurred after the Titans' defense forced a fumble off Broncos' running back
Justin Forsett. A 41-yard field goal by Succop just before halftime gave the Titans a 13–0 lead. The Broncos' offense did not cross midfield in the first half. After a scoreless third quarter, the Broncos were attempting to cut into the Titans' lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Titans' defense stopped the Broncos on a 4th-and-goal. After forcing a Titans' punt, the Broncos finally got on the scoreboard with ten minutes remaining in the game, with quarterback
Trevor Siemian connecting on a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Emmanuel Sanders. After forcing a three-and-out from the Titans, the Broncos marched down to as far as the Titans' 16-yard line, but had to settle on a 34-yard field goal by placekicker
Brandon McManus to narrow the Titans' lead to 13–10 with 4:33 remaining in the game. After forcing another Titans' punt, the Broncos had one last possession, hoping for a rally. With 1:04 remaining in the game, Siemian completed a pass to tight end
A. J. Derby at the 41-yard line, however, Titans' linebacker
Avery Williamson forced a fumble off Derby, which was recovered by safety
Daimion Stafford to seal the win for the Titans.
Week 15: vs. New England Patriots The Broncos' defense limited
Patriots' quarterback
Tom Brady to 188 yards passing and no touchdowns, but their defensive effort was wasted by a poor performance from their inconsistent offense. The Broncos' only scoring play was a 33-yard field goal by placekicker
Brandon McManus. In the first quarter, a fumbled punt by
Jordan Norwood led to a 45-yard field goal by Patriots' placekicker
Stephen Gostkowski. An interception off Broncos' quarterback
Trevor Siemian by cornerback
Logan Ryan resulted in the only touchdown of the game—a 1-yard run by Patriots' running back
LeGarrette Blount in the second quarter. Gostkowski added two more field goals—a 40-yarder in the third quarter and a 21-yarder in the fourth.
Notes The Broncos wore their alternate navy blue uniforms for this game.
Notes With the loss, the Broncos were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since
2010, lost all three of their
AFC West divisional road games for the first time since 2010 and suffered their first season sweep at the hands of the Chiefs since
2000. The Broncos' streak of five consecutive playoff appearances—the longest in franchise history—came to an end. For the first time since
1966, the Broncos' offense scored 10 of fewer points for a third consecutive game. The Broncos' defense surrendered 330 yards in the first half—the most the Broncos have surrendered in a half since
1981, and 484 for the entire game—the most since
2013. This would also be the final career game of outside linebacker
DeMarcus Ware, who would have season-ending back surgery the next week.
Week 17: vs. Oakland Raiders The Broncos jumped out to a 24–0 lead midway through the third quarter and spoiled the
Raiders' chances of earning the
AFC West division title and a first-round bye. Running back
Devontae Booker scored two touchdowns—an 11-yard run in the first quarter and on a 43-yard pass from quarterback
Trevor Siemian, who also connected on a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Virgil Green in the third quarter. Placekicker
Brandon McManus added a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter. The only scoring play allowed by the Broncos' defense was a 32-yard touchdown pass from Raiders' quarterback
Connor Cook to wide receiver
Amari Cooper. Cook substituted for starter
Matt McGloin, who left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. McGloin was named the Raiders' starting quarterback after
Derek Carr suffered a season-ending leg fracture during the previous week.
Notes This was
Gary Kubiak's final game as the Broncos'
head coach, as he retired from coaching on the following day due to concerns over his health.
Standings Division Conference Statistics Team leaders League rankings ==Awards and honors==