As we all know well, due to the privilege of winning the Super Bowl, the Broncos will get to start their next season at home on Thursday night on NBC. In addition to the usual division rivals, Denver will host Houston, Indianapolis, New England, Atlanta…and Carolina.
I think it’s safe to say that the Panthers game will be ruled out, as Fox will fight tooth and nail to get that game as one of their featured ones, considering they only get the Broncos twice a year under the standard scheduling rules. That may also rule out the Falcons for similar reasons. I think CBS will fight hard for the Patriots game since they lost it to NBC in 2015. Gary Kubiak facing his former team in the Texans also seems destined for prime time in midseason.
My leading guess would be the Colts, with the Chiefs or Raiders also being real possibilities. What say you?