DENVER -- In a season in which the Denver Broncos' offense has struggled mightily to construct many scoring drives, let alone big plays, they used just enough small ones to grind out a 17-14 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night in Empower Field at Mile High.
In coach Sean Payton's second game since he took back playcalling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb, the Broncos put together a 16-play drive for their first touchdown of the game -- their longest drive of the season -- to go with a nine-play, 79-yard touchdown for their second one. Denver then survived without another scoring drive.
Payton has preached a need for a reduction in "calories" in the offense as well as more physicality in the run game to make life easier on quarterback Bo Nix. All while the Broncos' defense, which was without All-Pro Pat Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga in the secondary, continued its quarterback-harassing ways. Denver had its second consecutive game with five sacks and an overtime interception from Ja'Quan McMillian.
The Broncos ran it more than they threw it in the Week 5 win against the Los Angeles Chargers and had the scale tipped squarely toward the run game most of the night against the Seahawks -- 26 runs compared to 27 pass attempts before Wil Lutz kicked the winning field goal.
The victory might not have been suitable for framing, given the Broncos didn't score after the first quarter and had to survive an 11-point fourth quarter from the Seahawks, but it was enough by the wafer-thinnest of margins.
It meant the Broncos have navigated the toughest six-game opening stretch of any team in the league, per ESPN Analytics, with wins against both teams from the NFC Championship Game last season as well as five teams that were in the postseason, culminating in a 4-2 record.
Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:
Denver Broncos (4-2)
Trend to watch: The Broncos, from Payton on down, probably have expended more energy, spoken more words, spent more time in thought and still more aspirin in the pursuit of faster starts in games. And yet they have finished every opening drive of every game -- including Thursday night -- with either a punt or a turnover (there were five punts and one interception in the season opener). And their Week 5 win against the Chargers was the only opening drive of a game to go even more than three plays.
Stat to know: With Thursday's win, Payton's teams have now won 40 consecutive games when they had a double-digit lead at halftime. The Broncos led 14-3 at halftime. The last time a Payton team lost a game when it had a double-digit lead at halftime was Week 1 of the 2014 season when the New Orleans Saints led 20-10 at halftime and lost the game 37-34.
What to make of the QB performance: Payton obviously meant what he said when he put himself back on the headset, that there would be "more balance" between run and pass to try to dial things down for Nix. Thursday's game was a low-risk, low-reward affair as Nix didn't have a completion longer than 16 yards and never really looked settled against a Seahawks pass rush that came in with a league-best 65.5% pass rush win rate. -- Jeff Legwold
Next game: at Arizona Cardinals (Oct. 25)
Seattle Seahawks (3-3)
The Seahawks' offense is officially broken. As a result, the defending champions are in serious trouble. In one of their most agonizing offensive showings since Mike Macdonald became their head coach in 2024, the Seahawks managed only 184 yards through the first three quarters, gave up five sacks of quarterback Sam Darnold and turned the ball over three more times -- including interceptions in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Adding to the inexplicability of it all is the fact the Broncos were missing their best defensive player in Surtain and another difference-maker in safety Talanoa Hufanga. It wasted a standout performance by Seattle's defense, which continues to keep the Seahawks in games despite their offensive struggles.
First-year coordinator Brian Fleury's unit entered Week 6 ranked eighth in scoring, but that was buoyed by Seattle's defense and special teams, which have been covering for the offense's flaws -- too many turnovers, Darnold's inability to play decisively, the lack of a credible run game and breakdowns in pass protection.
With the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers playing the one-win Washington Commanders at home Monday night, the Seahawks could be three games behind in the NFC West standings by the time Week 6 is over -- with one loss already to their division rival.
What to make of the QB performance: After taking five sacks Sunday in a loss to the 49ers, Darnold made it clear this week that he needs to play more decisively. That still appeared to be an issue Thursday, with the quarterback bypassing open receivers and trying unsuccessfully to extend plays. At times, though, his pass protection gave him no chance. Darnold showed his mettle by leading a touchdown and field goal drive in the fourth quarter to bookend his fourth-quarter interception. But after entering this game ranked 29th in Total QBR, he now has as many picks as touchdown passes -- seven -- in the four games since he returned from a glute injury.
Trend to watch: As good as Seattle's defense is, it can't keep teams out of the end zone in goal-to-go situations. The Seahawks' opponents have had nine of them over the first six games and have scored touchdowns on all of them -- including two by Denver on Thursday night. Not that you can fault Macdonald's unit for this one. After the Broncos' back-to-back long touchdown drives in the first half, Seattle's defense gave them nothing.
Stat to know: This was Jaxon Smith-Njigba's fourth career game with at least 10 catches and 100 receiving yards, tying Tyler Lockett for most in team history. The league's leading receiver and the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year (12 catches for 134 yards) entered Thursday having gotten 34.8% of the Seahawks' targets -- by far the largest target share of any NFL player. He had some help for a change, with Rashid Shaheed (66 yards) and Cooper Kupp (50 yards) both topping 50 receiving yards and combining for 18 targets. -- Brady Henderson
Next game: vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Oct. 25)