Report: Broncos to Open Week 1 at Giants

The Broncos' opening-week game is finally on the schedule.

Denver Broncos fans, rejoice. For the first time in a couple of years, you won't have to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to watch the Broncos play their season-opener because of NFL schedulers putting them as the late game in a Monday night doubleheader. 

ESPN's Field Yates reported on Wednesday that the Broncos will open the 2021 regular season on the road at the New York Giants. 

The full slate of Week 1 FOX games:
* Vikings at Bengals, 1 PM ET
* 49ers at Lions, 1 PM ET
* Eagles at Falcons, 1 PM ET
* Seahawks at Colts, 1 PM ET
* Broncos at Giants, 4:25 PM ET
* Packers at Saints, 4:25 PM ET

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 12, 2021

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You don't often see East Coast games scheduled that late in the afternoon but for Broncos fans, it'll be a normal time. Denver most often plays the afternoon slate of NFL games at or around 2 pm MDT. 

It's never easy for teams from out West to play on the Eastern Seaboard especially in early-start games. But the Broncos did okay in that department last year under head coach Vic Fangio and this trip won't be for an early bout. 

The Broncos play the Giants right smack-dab in the middle of the afternoon (on Rocky Mountain time). This could be a Drew Lock vs. Daniel Jones showdown of two 2019 drafted quarterbacks crossing swords for the first time. 

It also sets up nicely as a revenge game for Broncos' offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who serves the Giants' head coach for two years before being fired at the end of the 2019 campaign. Shurmur presided over Jones getting drafted No. 6 overall in 2019 while Lock fell all the way to pick 42 where the Broncos traded up to land him. 

Now, the two could duke it out. But Lock will first have to vanquish Teddy Bridgewater in training camp. 

Here's to hoping the Broncos can get off to a hotter start in 2021 because under Fangio, this team is a putrid 1-7 in the first quarter of the season. Denver's Week 1 tilt at the Giants will be televised on FOX. 

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