At least Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton hasn’t lost his sense of humor.
When asked if he had “pissed someone off” at the NFL offices because of the absolutely brutal schedule the Broncos face to start the season, Payton was quick with a comeback.
“No,” Payton said, laughing. “That happened a long time ago.”
Few head coaches in NFL history have had the success — and generated the controversy — that Payton has over his 2-plus decades as an NFL head coach for the New Orleans Saints and Broncos.
Sean Payton’s Infamous NFL Suspension
Any NFL punishment — real or imagined — would be a pittance compared to the worst punishment he’s faced from the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell in the past.
Payton was at the center of the sprawling “Bountygate” scandal with the Saints, when Goodell handed out some of the harshest penalties in league history after discovering the Saints operated a slush fund that paid defensive players “bounties’ for injuring opposing players.
In response, Goodell suspended Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire 2012 season and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely. While Vilma had his suspension overturned on appeal, Payton served his yearlong suspension.
There was a movie made about Payton’s year away from the NFL in which comedian Kevin James played the coach — “Home Team” co-starring Taylor Lautner and Rob Schneider was released on Netflix in 2022.
Payton returned to the Saints following the suspension and was their head coach for 9 more seasons.
Nightmare Schedule for Denver Broncos in 2026
The Broncos have a nightmare 1st 6 weeks of the 2026 regular season.
The Broncos open the season at the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, then face 5 consecutive playoff teams, capped by hosting the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 6.
“If you consider the Chiefs a playoff team, then the Broncos are the first team in NFL history to have their first 6 games of the season against playoff teams from the year before,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens wrote on his official X account on Thursday. “Unbelievably tough start for Denver.”
The Broncos went 14-3 in 2025 and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs before losing at home to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
DraftKings put the Broncos on notice with the release of its first over/under win total projections for 2026, tabbing the Broncos at 9.5 wins (-110) — a drastic step backwards.
The schedule also reflects the Broncos becoming 1 of the NFL’s premier teams once again with a whopping 5 primetime games. Here’s a look at the Broncos’ complete regular-season schedule:
- Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs (MNF)
- Week 2: Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 3: Los Angeles Rams (SNF)
- Week 4: at San Francisco 49ers
- Week 5: at Los Angeles Chargers
- Week 6: Seattle Seahawks (TNF)
- Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals
- Week 8: Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 9: at Carolina Panthers
- Week 10: BYE
- Week 11: Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 12: at Pittsburgh Steelers (Black Friday)
- Week 13: Miami Dolphins
- Week 14: at New York Jets
- Week 15: at Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 16: Buffalo Bills (Christmas)
- Week 17: at New England Patriots
- Week 18: Los Angeles Chargers
Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton Laughs Off NFL Schedule Accusations