For Broncos, key for Week 1 and season is to forget the past

It would be too much to say that the Broncos own the Chiefs — even though Kansas City’s lengthy dominance in the series certainly came to an end over the last three seasons.

Yes, the Broncos are 4-2 against their rivals from down east on I-70 since Sean Payton became their head coach — including wins in four of the last five duels. And Denver is a Leo Chenal last-second field-goal block away from having five-consecutive wins over the Chiefs.

But two of those wins came against a Kansas City side without two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, with one of those transpiring at the expense of the Chiefs’ backups in the 2024 regular-season finale. And of course, the Broncos’ only win at Arrowhead Stadium since Super Bowl 50 came last Christmas when the Chiefs were down to third-teamer Chris Oladokun at quarterback.

Not even nine months later, Oladokun is out of the NFL, having reached an injury settlement with the Chiefs on Sept. 4.

So, there isn’t appreciable carryover.

Fortunately, the Broncos realize this.

“The biggest thing going into each season is that you can’t remember,” right guard Quinn Meinerz said. “You have to have short-term memory. You have to forget about what happened last season because every season is completely different.

“We have a new team. They have a new team. The division’s open for whoever to take at this point.”

BRONCOS MUST FIND QUICK GALLOP IN ‘RACE TO GET BETTER’

Recent Broncos seasons show that it’s not about where you start, but in what Sean Payton calls “the race to get better,” it’s a matter of how rapidly you can come together to become the fully-formed version of the team you’ll be — and how many games you can win along the way while you get there.

Last season, the Broncos struggled to beat the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 before dropping the following two games on walk-off field goals. They played better across the board in those two defeats than they did in that season-opening win, but it wasn’t until Weeks 4 and 5 before the Broncos began rounding into the form that would power them to 11-consecutive wins.

Denver had just one divisional game in September and October last year. The same is true for this year’s schedule, but it’s a doozy: opening night in a place where the Broncos have lost eight of their last nine.

But just as last year’s results don’t matter much, neither does the history. It cuts in both directions, meaning that the Broncos can’t lean on four wins in their last five games with the Chiefs … or that a Mahomes-led team hasn’t lost a home game to Denver.

“So, it’s early in the season and and in our divisional games it’s a lot about proving yourself as a team, but that’s something that we have to do again this year,” Meinerz said.

“That’s just kind of the nature of the beast of the NFL: Everyone kind of resets and gets ready for the next season, and so, I think we’ve done a good job resetting. We know that they’ve done a great job as well.

“They’re a really well-coached team, and so, it’s going to be AFC West football.”

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