Ja’Quan McMillian picked off Sam Darnold on Seattle’s first snap series of overtime, and Wil Lutz finished it from 53 yards with 4:53 left in the extra period as the Denver Broncos edged the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 on Thursday, October 15, at Empower Field at Mile High.
Denver moved to 4-2 with one of the strangest wins of the season: its offense managed 168 yards, less than half of Seattle’s 353, and a defense missing cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga carried the night. The defending champion Seahawks fell to 3-3, their second loss in five days.
The overtime
Seattle had the ball first, but Darnold’s throw for Rashid Shaheed was read early by McMillian, the slot cornerback, for the quarterback’s second interception of the night. The Broncos’ offense then added just 8 yards before Lutz, perfect on the night, put his kick through.
BRONCOS WIN IT IN OVERTIME pic.twitter.com/wDBCmTltgY
— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2026
“Defensively, we were magnificent,” Sean Payton said, while conceding that his team’s 4-2 mark could just as easily be 2-4.
Every score
- First quarter, 6:31: Jason Myers 55-yard field goal (Seahawks 3-0)
- Second quarter, 12:52: J.K. Dobbins 4-yard run, Lutz kick (Broncos 7-3)
- Second quarter, 5:15: RJ Harvey 1-yard run on a direct snap, Lutz kick (Broncos 14-3)
- Fourth quarter, 5:41: George Holani 1-yard run, Darnold pass to Shaheed for two (Broncos 14-11)
- Fourth quarter, 0:03: Myers 34-yard field goal (14-14)
- Overtime, 4:53: Lutz 53-yard field goal (Broncos 17-14)
How Seattle came back, and why it fell short
The Seahawks scored three points on their first eight possessions. A promising first-half march died at the Denver 34 when Nik Bonitto stripped Shaheed and linebacker Justin Strnad fell on the ball, and a 47-yard attempt by Myers bounced away off the right upright early in the second half. Seattle reached the Denver 40 or closer six times and came away with 11 points.
Down 14-3, Darnold finally found a rhythm on an 11-play, 67-yard drive capped by Holani’s plunge and a two-point throw to Shaheed. Kris Abrams-Draine then appeared to close the game by undercutting a pass for Tory Horton near the Denver 30 with 1:25 to go, but the Broncos ran only 15 seconds off the clock before punting. Shaheed brought Jeremy Crawshaw’s kick back 31 yards to the Seattle 46, and eight plays later Myers forced overtime.
Darnold threw for 278 yards on 27-of-51 passing, with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Denver sacked him five times and hit him 17 times. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the bright spot, catching 12 of 16 targets for 134 yards after only two grabs at halftime. Shaheed added five receptions for 66 yards and 116 yards on returns, and linebacker Ernest Jones IV had nine tackles and a sack. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said his quarterback was being hit far too often.
Denver’s stalled offense
Bo Nix went 17 of 27 for 107 yards, a week after throwing for 123 against the Chargers. Over Denver’s last 10 possessions the offense produced 32 yards, and in the second half it went 0 for 6 on third down. Dobbins ran 17 times for 41 yards, and Harvey led the receivers with 31 yards on three catches.
“I don’t know why we can’t really push the ball vertically right now,” Nix said afterward, adding that opposing defenses were sitting back against Denver.
Alex Singleton led the Broncos with 13 tackles, Abrams-Draine broke up three passes on top of his interception, and punter Crawshaw averaged 49.4 yards on eight kicks. Denver lost running back Tyler Badie to a thumb injury in the second quarter, and Seattle lost tight end Elijah Arroyo to a right shoulder injury shortly before halftime.
Ja'Quan McMillian read this PERFECTLY.
SEAvsDEN on Prime Video
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/1igvuDtROG— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2026
What comes next
The Broncos play at the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, October 25, at 4:05 p.m. EDT. The Seahawks host the Kansas City Chiefs that night at 8:20 p.m. EDT. The full box score is in the Game Center.
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