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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —** The Broncos' 2016 schedule, which begins with a Super Bowl rematch against the Carolina Panthers, has drawn a lot of attention as a season full of mouth-watering matchups, and Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway shares the same enthusiasm.
Take a look at the Broncos 2016 schedule and how the team fared the last team they played each opponent.
Last game, Super Bowl 50: Broncos 24, Panthers 10 In a match between a dominant defense and 2015 MVP Cam Newton, the Broncos came out on top with OLB Von Miller tormenting the Panthers offense to the tune of 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, each of which were turned into a touchdown.
Last game, 2015 Week 9: Colts 27, Broncos 24 In 2015, the Colts gained an early 17-0 lead in the first half before an Omar Bolden punt return cut the deficit to 10 points at halftime. The Broncos mounted a comeback to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but Indianapolis hit a go-ahead field goal and then forced an interception to keep the lead for the duration.
Last game, 2015 Week 16: Broncos 20, Bengals 17 (OT) A recovered fumble by DeMarcus Ware in overtime sealed the comeback victory by Denver, who had fallen behind 14-0 in the first half.
Last game, 2012 Week 13: Broncos 31, Buccaneers 23 Defensive tackle Mitch Unrein caught a touchdown pass from Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas scored two of his own and OLB Von Miller returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown as the Broncos romped for their 9th win of the season.
Last game, 2012 Week 2: Falcons 27, Broncos 21 The Falcons' Matt Ryan threw his 100th career touchdown as Atlanta went on to defeat the Broncos on Monday Night Football in the Georgia Dome.
Last (road) game, 2015 Week 13: Broncos 17, Chargers 3 With an early score to Demaryius Thomas, the Broncos jumped out early against San Diego and the defense took care of the rest in a dominant effort at Qualcomm Stadium.
Last game, 2013 Week 16: Broncos 37, Texans 13 Peyton Manning threw for 400 yards and broke the single-season record for touchdown passes as the Broncos offense overpowered the Texans in Houston.
Last (home) game, 2015 Week 17: Broncos 27, Chargers 20 Turnovers threatened to give the Chargers a helping hand in this season finale that could have sent the Broncos to a wild-card seed instead of the top overall seed. But Peyton Manning's return gave the Broncos offense stability as the running game offered explosiveness to hold on to the victory.
Last (away) game, 2015 Week 5: Broncos 16, Raiders 10 In a tough defensive battle, a Chris Harris Jr. pick-six proved to be the difference in the Broncos' previous matchup against the Raiders in Oakland.
Last game, 2012 Week 8: Broncos 34, Saints 14 In an all-around team effort, the Broncos put up 513 yards of offense and held the Saints to 252 yards. On their way to victory, Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns and Willis McGahee ran for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Last (home) game, 2015 Week 10: Chiefs 29, Broncos 13 In the second meeting of the Broncos and Chiefs of the 2015 season, Kansas City came into Sports Authority Field at Mile High and forced the Broncos into five turnovers. The Chiefs took the lead early and never looked back. Peyton Manning broke the all-time passing yardage record in the first half.
Last game, 2013 Week 6: Broncos 35, Jaguars 19 Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno only rushed for 42 yards, but his three touchdowns carried the day for Denver.
Last game, 2013 Week 14: Broncos 51, Titans 28 Matt Prater set an NFL record with a 64-yard field goal and Peyton Manning's 397 yard passing and four touchdowns were too much for the visiting Titans.
Last game, 2016 AFC Championship: Broncos 20, Patriots 18 In an all-time epic playoff matchup, the Broncos defense denied the Patriots on a two-point try late in the fourth quarter to earn a trip to Super Bowl 50.
Last (away) game, 2015 Week 2: Broncos 31, Chiefs 24 In an instant classic, the Broncos battled back from an early two-touchdown deficit to tie the game before halftime. The Chiefs again put the Broncos on their heels with a touchdown that left the Broncos just over two minutes to mount a game-tying touchdown drive. Peyton Manning conducted just that, capping the 80-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders. The game seemed like it was headed to overtime, but the Chiefs decided to try their luck with a Jamaal Charles rush with 36 seconds left. ILB Brandon Marshall punched out the ball from Charles' grasp and CB Bradley Roby scooped it up and ran it back for a touchdown. The defense would stop Kansas City in the final 27 seconds to clinch the victory.
Last (home) game, 2015 Week 14: Raiders 15, Broncos 12 The Broncos were dominant on defense in the first half, but the offense couldn't muster more than a field goal on their scoring possessions. Oakland scored two touchdowns in the second half to complete the comeback victory.
"I think it's a great schedule for our fans. If you look at the home schedule, there are a lot of great football teams coming in," Elway said Thursday. "The bye week falls well for us—late in the year. We have kind of a semi-bye when we have San Diego on Thursday night (Week 6). We have Houston on the following Monday night, so we have a break there. I think it's a good schedule. The bottom line is you have to play them as they come anyway. It's always nice to have it out though to see what the upcoming year looks like."
The other prime-time games — against Oakland, San Diego, Kansas City and Houston — drew his eye, as well.
Naturally, the Monday-night game against the Texans raises an interest level not only because it's a battle between two AFC playoff teams, but because former Broncos QB Brock Osweiler is expected to be under center for Houston.
"It will be nice to have Brock come back here. They are a good football team. They are going to be a team that's going to compete for the AFC," Elway said. "With Indy coming in, New England coming in, Carolina coming in and Houston coming in—we have a lot of top-notch teams coming in."
The division games are of particular interest because they're all on prime-time television, sure, but with two closing out the season, the AFC West title race could come down to those final matches. And in a unique situation with Christmas falling on a Sunday, the Broncos will be the only NFL game that night when they play the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium.
"We'll have to celebrate Christmas a little bit early before we go, and once we take off, [we'll] go be ready to play a football game in Kansas City," Elway said. "We've got Kansas City and Oakland the last two games of the year, so I'm sure those things are really going to shape up to see who wins the AFC West."
