Colin Cowherd Convinced NFL Gave Broncos Tough 2026 Schedule as Punishment

When the NFL released its 2026 season schedule on Thursday night, a few teams stuck out as having got a raw deal.

The Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, and Green Bay Packers are among the teams with the most difficult schedules next season.

But there's one team that FS1's Colin Cowherd believes was being retaliated against by the league given how difficult the early part of their schedule shook out.

"Who are they punishing?" Cowherd asked. "And I believe this - I'm not a conspiracy guy, but I believe this - I think Sean Payton has a mixed relationship with the league office. He's taken shots at quarterbacks…he's taken shots at coaches. The NFL does not like friendly fire. Look at Denver's schedule - they're punishing them. They have the toughest (first) six-game schedule I've seen in my life. … I've never seen anything like that.

"… They could've thrown an Arizona game in there, a Panthers game in there. They could've thrown that Steeler game in there, a Raider game in there. Nope (it's) front-heavy with Bo Nix coming off a surgery. I'm not a conspiracy guy, but I think Sean Payton has irked a few people…that feels like they're trying to [punish them]."

To Cowherd's point, Denver first six games are against playoff teams from a season ago.

The Broncos open the year against the Kansas City Chiefs on "Monday Night Football," followed by games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams ("Sunday Night Football"), San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers, and the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks ("Thursday Night Football").

Denver gets a reprieve in Week 7 with a game against the Arizona Cardinals, but it hosts the Chiefs the following week and the Carolina Panthers the week after before the bye.

From Week 11 through Week 15 things get easier with two games against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets, but the Broncos close out the year with three straight games against the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, and Chargers - all 2025 playoff teams.

There's no way of knowing whether the NFL really had an axe to grind with the Broncos, but it's hard to deny that they have a brutal path to the playoffs next season.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 5:19 PM.