Broncos Beat the Seahawks in Overtime on 168 Yards

Wil Lutz kicked a 53-yard field goal with 4:53 left in overtime, and the Denver Broncos beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 on Thursday Night Football after an eight-yard drive.

Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted Sam Darnold at the Seattle 43 on the first extra-period series. Denver is 4-2. Seattle, the defending Super Bowl champion, fell to 3-3.

Lutz Wins It From 53 After an Eight-Yard Drive

The Broncos did not need a first down. Lutz’s kick closed a four plays and eight yards overtime possession and gave Denver its 14th straight regular-season win in a one-score game, in front of 76,973 at Empower Field at Mile High.

McMillian, a cornerback, jumped a throw intended for Rashid Shaheed on third-and-7 from the Seattle 28. Riley Moss, listed as questionable with a rib injury and then in the game, said of his teammate, “He has clutch in his DNA.”

The kick ended a night that had already gotten away once. Kris Abrams-Draine intercepted Darnold at the Denver 31 with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter, with Seattle in field-goal range. The Broncos burned 15 seconds and punted. Shaheed returned Jeremy Crawshaw’s kick 31 yards to the Seattle 46. Eight plays and 38 yards later, Jason Myers tied it from 34 yards with 3 seconds left in regulation.

Seattle got the ball first in overtime. Darnold’s second interception of the night ended the rally.

FOR THE WIN!

📺: #TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/9iecX0SCpf

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 16, 2026

HOW THE POINTS LANDED

1. 6:31, first quarter: Myers hits from 55 yards (6 plays, 18 yards). Seahawks 3-0.
2. 12:52, second quarter: J.K. Dobbins runs 4 yards (16 plays, 74 yards). Broncos 7-3.
3. 5:15, second quarter: RJ Harvey runs 1 yard (9 plays, 79 yards). Broncos 14-3.
4. 5:41, fourth quarter: George Holani runs 1 yard, Darnold hits Shaheed for two. Seahawks 14-11.
5. 0:03, fourth quarter: Myers from 34 yards (8 plays, 38 yards). Tied 14-14.
6. 4:53, overtime: Lutz from 53 yards (4 plays, 8 yards). Broncos 17-14.

Every Denver point came on the ground or off Lutz’s foot. Wearing throwbacks, the Broncos are now 6-0 in those jerseys, and the 14 first-half points were a season high.

Denver Managed 168 Yards and Still Left 4-2

Seattle outgained Denver 353 to 168 and ran 82 plays to 57. The Broncos averaged 2.9 yards per play, converted 3 of 14 third downs, and still won because they did not turn the ball over.

Bo Nix went 17 of 27 for 107 yards, 4.0 per attempt, with no touchdown and no interception. He was 10 of 15 for 78 yards before halftime and 7 of 12 for 29 after it. In the final 30 minutes Denver had 30 yards and two first downs and went 0-for-6 on third down, punting on six second-half possessions.

“I don’t know where the disconnect is,” Nix said. “We are struggling to get explosive plays.” He pointed at the second quarter as “a good example of what we could be,” then added that the win was the most important thing.

The two scores that held up came before the break. Dobbins finished the 74-yard march at 12:52 of the second quarter. Harvey, who caught three passes for 31 yards, scored from a yard out at 5:15. Denver went 2-for-2 in the red zone and never got there again. Dobbins led the rushers with 41 yards on 17 carries.

THE YARDAGE THAT DID NOT DECIDE IT

Seattle ran 25 more plays and gained more than twice the yards. The column that closed the game is turnovers, 3-0.

The Secondary Won Thursday Without Surtain

Patrick Surtain II, a two-time All-Pro corner, and safety Talanoa Hufanga were both Surtain II and Hufanga listed out with ankle injuries on the Week 6 report. Moss played through the rib listing. The defense still produced five sacks and 17 quarterback hits, plus three takeaways, on 82 snaps against a Seattle unit that entered the week No. 1 in yards allowed.

Seven players had at least half a sack: Zach Allen, McMillian, Nik Bonitto, Justin Strnad, Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson, and Malcolm Roach. Roach led the team with four quarterback hits. Darnold was pressured on 24 of his dropbacks.

Bonitto punched the ball out of Shaheed’s hands after a catch that had moved Seattle to the Denver 35 in the second quarter, and Strnad recovered. Myers later missed a 47-yard try off the right upright in the third quarter. The Broncos kept Seattle out of the red zone until the fourth.

THE STOPS THAT HELD 14-3

• Snaps: The defense played 82 plays and strung together six consecutive stops in one stretch.
• McMillian: He added a sack to the overtime interception and finished with five tackles.
• Abrams-Draine: His fourth-quarter pick was the second of his NFL career and his first since 2024.
• Singleton: Linebacker Alex Singleton led Denver with 13 tackles.

Crawshaw averaged 49.4 yards on eight punts and flipped the field until Shaheed’s 31-yard return. That one return, not a Denver first down, is how overtime arrived.

Darnold Forced Overtime, Then Threw It Away

Darnold finished 27 of 51 for 278 yards, no touchdown passes, two interceptions, and a 52.6 rating. He was sacked five times for 38 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 12 passes for 134 yards after two catches for 11 yards at halftime. Cooper Kupp had five for 50. Emanuel Wilson rushed 14 times for 52 yards.

Seattle had 91 yards and three points in the first half, then 11 points in the fourth. Holani’s 1-yard run at 5:41 and the two-point pass to Shaheed made it 14-11. The Seahawks had six drives inside the Denver 40 and came away with a field goal, a touchdown, and that two-point play.

WHAT SEATTLE LEFT ON THE FIELD

• The fumble: Bonitto stripped Shaheed after a catch that had reached the Denver 35.
• The miss: Myers hooked a 47-yard try off the right upright in the third quarter.
• The first pick: Abrams-Draine undercut Tory Horton at the Denver 31 with 1:25 left.
• The last pick: McMillian jumped Shaheed on the first overtime series and handed Lutz a 53-yard look.

Darnold has seven interceptions in his last four games after throwing 14 all of last season. Seattle has turned it over at least three times in each of its three losses, including four in a 32-29 defeat to San Francisco on Oct. 11. The throws were there when the pocket held. The season is now being shaped by the ones that did not, which is why a champion is 3-3.

The Last Home Collapse From 11 Up Was in 2004

Denver led 14-3 at the start of the fourth quarter, an 11-point cushion, and had not lost a home game after leading by 11 or more points in the fourth since a Raiders’ 25-24 win on November 28, 2004, in the snow at the old Mile High stadium.

That night the Broncos went up 24-13 on a 3-yard Reuben Droughns run and a 32-yard interception return by Ellis Johnson. Kerry Collins threw two late touchdowns, the last a 5-yarder to Jerry Porter with 1:49 left, and a blocked Jason Elam kick sealed Oakland’s 25-24 win.

Thursday they led by the same 11. They still have not lost one of those at home. The difference was McMillian and Lutz, not a second-half scoring drive. The offense that built 14-3 gained 30 yards after halftime.

What a 4-2 Start Conceals in the AFC West

The Broncos have won four of their last five and all three home games. They sit behind the 4-0 Kansas City Chiefs and ahead of the 3-2 Las Vegas Raiders, with the 0-5 Los Angeles Chargers last. Sean Payton called plays for a second game after taking that job from offensive coordinator Davis Webb. The first half looked designed. The rest looked like a team protecting a lead it could not extend.

Those wins are hard to get. We played a real good team. I feel like we can continue to improve. I am little bit of a realist to know that the 4-2 could be 2-4.

Sean Payton, Broncos head coach, postgame

Payton also said Denver would see “a handful of things we didn’t do well in the run or passing game,” then noted the team did not make mistakes. Nix finished with one of his five lowest career passing totals already this season, and three of those five have come in the first six games.

AFC WEST AFTER THURSDAY

Denver visits the Arizona Cardinals (1-4) in Week 7, then hosts Kansas City on Nov. 1. The 4-2 line in that table is real. So is the 168-yard night that produced it.

Seattle Is.500 and Already at Last Year’s Loss Total

Three losses already match last season, when Seattle won the Super Bowl. The Seahawks have lost twice in five days. San Francisco is 5-0 in the NFC West; the Rams are 2-3.

Zach Charbonnet (knee), Chazz Surratt (calf), and Drake Thomas (ankle) were out. The defense that came in No. 1 in yards allowed held Denver to 168 and still lost because the offense donated the ball. Seattle hosts the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football on Oct. 25.

Payton said those wins are hard to get against a good team, and Lutz made this one from 53. Arizona gets the version of Denver that gained 30 yards after halftime and still found a kick.