Broncos Secure Overtime Win Against Seahawks
In an exciting finish, Broncos kicker Wil Lutz nailed a 53-yard field goal in overtime, leading Denver to a 17-14 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Seattle received the ball first in the sudden death period but found themselves facing a tough third-and-7 from their own 28-yard line. Sam Darnold attempted to squeeze a pass into double coverage along the sideline, apparently overlooking Denver cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian. McMillian, anticipating the throw, intercepted the pass and set the Broncos up at the Seattle 43-yard line.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton took a conservative approach, running the ball three consecutive times to manage the clock effectively before Lutz took care of the rest.
It was somewhat refreshing, really, to watch a coach execute solid clock management when so many had faltered in previous games. For the first twenty minutes of the game, Payton’s game plan seemed flawless.
Denver dominated possession, establishing a 14-3 lead at halftime thanks to two methodical touchdown drives capped off by short runs from J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. But then the second half rolled around.
The Broncos’ offense appeared disjointed, to put it mildly. Bo Nix ended the evening with just 107 passing yards and had no significant downfield threat. Meanwhile, Seattle’s defense managed to turn things around in the fourth quarter, scoring a touchdown from George Holani and converting a two-point play from Darnold to Rashid Shaheed, narrowing the gap to 14-11. Denver, struggling to respond in the closing minutes, stalled yet again, allowing Jason Myers to kick a 34-yard field goal as time expired, pushing the game into overtime.
If you watched those final two quarters of the Denver offense, you might feel a bit frustrated. The only reason the Broncos managed to stay in it was their defense. Vance Joseph’s unit really pulled through despite the absence of Patrick Surtain II. They kept hitting Darnold, sacking him five times and creating turnovers right when Seattle seemed poised to take control. Notably, Nik Bonitto stripped the ball from Rashid Shaheed in a scoring situation, and Kris Abrams-Draine grabbed an interception in the fourth quarter. McMillian then sealed the game in overtime.
Seattle managed to amass 353 total yards, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba recording 12 catches for 134 yards, but three costly turnovers ruined their efforts.
With plenty of aspects to improve, Bo Nix certainly has work ahead of him. Payton now gets a 10-day break to strategize before facing the Arizona Cardinals and needs to figure out how to effectively move the ball. Despite the rough patches, this win counts, pushing Denver to 4-2 and keeping them in the rearview of the undefeated Kansas City.
Ultimately, Denver’s defense won a game that, frankly, they had little business winning, and Darnold’s miscalculations helped them pull it off when it counted most.
