Broncos Finalize Preseason Schedule with Primetime Home Game

The Denver Broncos put the finishing touches on their 2025 exhibition schedule, announcing Tuesday that they'll host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 of the NFL preseason.

The game will take place Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. MT at Empower Field, broadcast nationally on NFL Network and locally on 9NEWS.

This will mark the annual summer meeting of the clubs. The Broncos won last year's matchup, 38-12, in a blowout highlighted by former quarterback Zach Wilson's three total touchdowns. It also featured a 94-yard pick-six by then-rookie inside linebacker Levelle Bailey, who went on to crack Denver's 53-man roster.

“I said to them afterwards, do not ever get tired of how it feels to win," head coach Sean Payton said following the contest. "We are substituting groups, and we are needing to get different groups evaluated and yet we still want to win. I felt the energy, and I think anybody that was on the sidelines felt it. That part of it is encouraging. The guys that are not in recognize how important it is for the guys that are in [the game]. That is what you want from your team.”

Sandwiched between Denver's showdown with the Cardinals will be road trips to San Francisco and New Orleans to open and close the preseason, respectively. That all precedes the Broncos' regular season lid-lifter versus the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 7.

Coming off its first playoff appearance in nearly a decade, Denver was awarded four nationally-televised games, including a Week 6 bout against the New York Jets in London and a Week 17 affair in Kansas City on Christmas Night.

"There will be a few more [primetime] TV games. It’s part of the deal, and you get comfortable doing it," Payton said on May 10. "It’s a lot better than the alternative. That’s what you want. It’s one of the things that’s attractive about coaching or playing here, is the history. I think if you’re a competitor, that drives you.”

Leading up to the aforementioned action will be a series of offseason workouts, including two rounds of voluntary Organized Team Activities (OTAs) from May 27-29 and June 3-5 and a three-day mandatory minicamp from June 10-12.