The Denver Broncos grinded out a 17-14 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night at Empower Field at Mile High. In a season where the Broncos' offense has struggled to produce scoring drives, they relied on a pair of long touchdown drives, including a 16-play march that was their longest of the season, along with a nine-play, 79-yard scoring drive.
Head coach Sean Payton took back playcalling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb and emphasized reducing "calories" in the offense and adding more physicality in the run game to ease the pressure on quarterback Bo Nix. Denver ran the ball 26 times and threw 27 passes, and the defense continued its quarterback-harassing ways with five sacks for the second straight game. Safety Ja'Quan McMillian added an overtime interception.
The Broncos did not score after the first quarter and had to hold off an 11-point fourth-quarter rally from Seattle. Kicker Wil Lutz won it with a field goal, and he said the moment was why players sign up for the NFL. "If you don't want that moment, you're not made for it," Lutz said.
The win improved Denver to 4-2 and means the Broncos navigated the toughest six-game opening stretch in the league, according to ESPN Analytics. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto called it a real challenge that the team handled well. Denver's problem remains slow starts, as every opening drive ended in a punt or turnover, but Payton's teams have now won 40 straight games when leading by double digits at halftime.
Source: ESPN NFL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing