NFL WEEK 6 · SEAHAWKS–BRONCOS REACTION
The Seahawks Are in Serious Trouble
Denver 17, Seattle 14, overtime. Losing on the road to the Broncos is not automatically a bad loss. Losing this particular game, after every chance Seattle had to win it, is a different story.
Our reaction: this does not look like last year's team
The Seahawks are in serious trouble. This team just does not look like what it was last year. I do not trust the running game, and the offensive line does not look like it can consistently hold up in the passing game. Then Sam Darnold makes the mistakes he made here, and you are left wondering how Seattle let another winnable game get away.
The Broncos did not necessarily play great. In the second half, they gave Seattle chance after chance. That is what makes this so frustrating: this was not simply a road game against a better team that Seattle had no answer for. This was a game the Seahawks probably should have won.
Darnold threw multiple interceptions that I thought were bad. There were too many instances where Seattle looked really, really poor. You cannot keep making those mistakes, especially in that division, and just assume you will be in the playoffs.
We have seen the loss to Washington. We have seen the loss to San Francisco. Now we have seen this loss to Denver. The issue is not that the Broncos are an unacceptable team to lose to. It is that Seattle had every opportunity to take this game and still could not finish it.
The final numbers
| Statistic | Seattle | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 353 | 168 |
| Net passing yards | 240 | 94 |
| Rushing yards | 113 | 74 |
| First downs | 24 | 13 |
| Third downs | 7-for-17 | 3-for-14 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Penalties | 7 for 75 yards | 8 for 42 yards |
Darnold finished 27-of-51 for 278 yards, no passing touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked five times for 38 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 12 passes for 134 yards. Bo Nix finished 17-of-27 for 107 yards, with no passing touchdowns or interceptions.
Two interceptions at the worst times
Denver led 14-3 at halftime, then went scoreless for the rest of regulation. Its first six possessions after halftime ended in punts. George Holani's one-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion cut the lead to 14-11 with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter.
Seattle had a chance to tie or move ahead, but Darnold's pass intended for Tory Horton was intercepted by Kris Abrams-Draine with 1:31 remaining. Denver still could not put the game away. Rashid Shaheed's 31-yard punt return helped set up Jason Myers' tying 34-yard field goal with three seconds left.
Overtime offered another chance. Seattle received first, picked up one first down, then lost the ball when Ja'Quan McMillian intercepted Darnold's pass intended for Shaheed at the Seahawks' 43. Denver needed only eight offensive yards before Wil Lutz hit the winning 53-yard field goal.
What the numbers add to our concerns
Our analysis: Seattle's defense gave the offense a real opportunity. Holding Denver to 168 yards and 2.9 yards per play should have been enough to keep this firmly within reach. The Seahawks' 185-yard advantage did not overcome a 3-0 turnover deficit.
The run-game criticism needs one distinction: Seattle actually finished with 113 rushing yards at 4.3 per carry. That is not a statistical collapse. Leading rusher Emanuel Wilson averaged 3.7 yards on 14 carries. The bigger, directly measurable damage came from the five sacks and three turnovers.
Seattle is 3-3, not eliminated. But playoff confidence is not playoff security. The concern is how many winnable games this team can afford to keep dropping. Better protection and fewer mistakes have to become more than something we expect next week.
Sources
- ESPN: final Seahawks–Broncos box score
- ESPN: scoring and play-by-play
- ESPN: Seattle schedule and results
Final score, statistics and sequence checked October 15, 2026. The reaction section expresses our assessment of the game; the closing analysis draws on the final numbers.