In his latest FMIA column on ProFootballTalk.com, Peter King has floated the Denver Broncos as a potential opponent to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL’s 2023 season opener this fall.
King believes Chiefs vs. the Las Vegas Raiders will be the favorite for the opener if the Raiders land Aaron Rodgers. Otherwise, he lists the Philadelphia Eagles (Super Bowl rematch), Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers as potential opponents for KC in Week 1.
“Too much will happen between now and early May to have a great idea of the 2023 opener, but that’s what seems logical right now,” King wrote of those potential matchups.
King also floated the idea of the Broncos facing the Los Angeles Rams for last year’s season opener. The NFL ultimately decided on the Rams facing the Buffalo Bills instead.
It’s hard to imagine the NFL putting the Broncos in the season-opening spotlight after last year’s disastrous prime-time schedule for Denver. The league gave the Broncos five prime-time games in 2022, plus two more nationally-televised games (a London game and a Christmas Day game).
Late in the season, even Broncos fans were asking the NFL to flex the team out of prime time to prevent additional embarrassment. The league consented and flexed Denver out of its final prime-time game of the season.
Sean Payton’s arrival does make the team more intriguing, but the NFL’s schedule makers were fooled by the hype around the Broncos in 2022. They seem unlikely to potentially make the same mistake in 2023. Denver will undoubtedly have some prime-time games, but the season opener seems unlikely coming off a 5-12 campaign.
The NFL’s 2023 schedule is expected to be announced in May.
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