Here is the 2011 schedule; all times are expressed in Broncos Standard Time.
| Week | Day | Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday | Sep 12, 2011 | Oakland Raiders | 8:15 PM |
| 2 | Sunday | Sep 18, 2011 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2:15 PM |
| 3 | Sunday | Sep 25, 2011 | at Tennessee Titans | 11:00 AM |
| 4 | Sunday | Oct 2, 2011 | at Green Bay Packers | 2:15 PM |
| 5 | Sunday | Oct 9, 2011 | San Diego Chargers | 2:15 PM |
| 6 | BYE | |||
| 7 | Sunday | Oct 23, 2011 | at Miami Dolphins | 11:00 AM |
| 8 | Sunday | Oct 30, 2011 | Detroit Lions | 2:05 PM |
| 9 | Sunday | Nov 6, 2011 | at Oakland Raiders | 2:05 PM |
| 10 | Sunday | Nov 13, 2011 | at Kansas City Chiefs | 11:00 AM |
| 11 | Thursday | Nov 17, 2011 | New York Jets | 6:20 PM |
| 12 | Sunday | Nov 27, 2011 | at San Diego Chargers | 2:15 PM |
| 13 | Sunday | Dec 4, 2011 | at Minnesota Vikings | 2:05 PM |
| 14 | Sunday | Dec 11, 2011 | Chicago Bears | 2:05 PM |
| 15 | Sunday | Dec 18, 2011 | New England Patriots | 2:15 PM |
| 16 | Saturday | Dec 24, 2011 | at Buffalo Bills | 11:00 AM |
| 17 | Sunday | Jan 1, 2012 | Kansas City Chiefs | 2:15 PM |
Denver will be playing two night games - the opener on MNF versus the Raiders and a Week 11 Thursday night home game in November against the Jets just four days after a visit to Kansas City. Fortunately, the Broncos have escaped the perils of a three-game road trip, instead playing three pairs of back-to-back roadies. The other major pitfall avoided is their annual trip to Florida will come in late October rather than early September.
But at first glance, there appears to be a brutal seven-game stretch from Week 9 through Week 15, including all three of their road division games in a four-week period, plus home games versus the Jets, Bears and Patriots. In fact, there are no apparent weak pockets in the schedule, if there is such a thing for a team coming off a 4-12 season.
The brightest spot is perhaps that Denver essentially has two bye weeks - the natural one in Week 6 and a ten-day break between its Week 11 and 12 games; these serve to essentially break the season into thirds.
