Broncos 17, Seahawks 14: Lutz From 53 After McMillian's OT Pick

October 15, 2026 - Denver - Third-and-7 from the Seattle 28. Overtime. Sam Darnold looked left for Rashid Shaheed. Ja'Quan McMillian was already there. Four plays later Wil Lutz hit from 53, and the Denver Broncos walked off 17-14.

The Seattle Seahawks had just scored 11 points in 5:41 and forced extra time. They still left Empower Field 3-3. Denver is 4-2 and 3-0 at home. Bo Nix threw for 107 yards. Seattle piled up 353. The takeaways decided it.

Darnold finished 27 of 51 for 278 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 52.6 rating. He was sacked five times for 38 yards. Nix went 17 of 27 for 107, no scores, no picks, a 71.1 rating. Denver had 168 yards and 13 first downs. Seattle had 24 first downs and 35:38 of the clock. Pat Surtain II and Talanoa Hufanga (ankles) did not play. The Broncos still hit Darnold 17 times.

Two long walks, then a 14-3 half

Jason Myers opened from 55 after a short field at the Seattle 45. 3-0, 6:31 of the first. Denver answered with the longest scoring drive of its season, Sean Payton's club said: 16 plays, 74 yards, 8:39. Tyler Badie converted fourth-and-3. J.K. Dobbins finished from 4. Lutz kicked. 3-7, 12:52 of the second.

The next drive covered 79 yards in nine plays. Byron Murphy II was flagged for a facemask on a third-down throw to Marvin Mims. Devon Witherspoon was flagged for pass interference in the end zone. Palczewski reported eligible. Direct snap to RJ Harvey. One yard. First touchdown of his 2026 season, the Broncos wrote. 3-14.

Seattle's best first-half chance died at the Denver 35. Shaheed ran left end. Nik Bonitto forced the fumble. Justin Strnad recovered at the Denver 34. Elijah Arroyo hurt his shoulder diving on the play and did not return. Denver punted. The half stayed 14-3.

The Seahawks had scored at least 29 points in each of the previous four games. They had three through three quarters Thursday. Five sacks, the Shaheed fumble, and a Myers miss from 47 (right upright in the NFL gamebook) after Nick Emmanwori's sack on third down at the Denver 29 kept the board stuck.

Eleven in 5:41, then a punt they could not afford

Denver did not score again in regulation. After those two touchdown drives, Seattle held the Broncos to two first downs the rest of the way, the Seahawks wrote, and forced punts on every full possession. Ernest Jones sacked Nix. Emmanwori sacked him for 10. Jeremy Crawshaw still averaged 49.4 yards on eight punts.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba finally got the night he had been hunting. He had two catches for 11 yards at the break, the Seahawks said. He finished with 12 for 134, a season high in receptions, and his fifth 100-yard game in six weeks. NFL Research, via the club, put him with Stanley Morgan, Marvin Harrison Sr., Adam Thielen, and Stefon Diggs as the only Super Bowl-era receivers to do that in a team's first six games.

The 11-play, 67-yard drive started at the Seattle 33. Smith-Njigba converted fourth-and-4. Darnold scrambled 18 yards to the 14. George Holani ran 13, then one. Darnold found Shaheed for two. 11-14, 5:41 left.

Kris Abrams-Draine intercepted Darnold at the Denver 31 with 1:25 left, a ball intended for Tory Horton. Denver ran two Dobbins plays, threw incomplete, and punted. Shaheed returned it 31 yards to the Seattle 46. Eight plays. Cooper Kupp for 17. Myers from 34 with three seconds on the ESPN clock (0:03 in the NFL scoring summary). 14-14.

Lutz from 53, from the 35

Denver won the toss and kicked. Jonah Elliss was already out. Shaheed muffed the kickoff and recovered. Holding backed Seattle to its 13. Third-and-7 from the 28 was the game. McMillian picked Darnold at the Seattle 43. AP's ESPN recap put that interception at the Denver 43. The NFL gamebook, the Broncos wrap (four plays, then the kick), and the 8-yard drive to the Seattle 35 all say Seattle 43.

Harvey ran five. Nix scrambled three, then was stuffed for no gain. Lutz from 53. Ernest Jones was flagged for leverage. It did not matter. The kick was good. 17-14, 4:53 of overtime. Paid attendance: 76,973. Time of game: 3:17. Clear, 53 degrees, east wind at 11.

Dobbins ran 17 times for 41 and the 4-yard score. Harvey added 6 for 25, the 1-yarder, and three catches for 31. Emanuel Wilson led Seattle with 14 carries for 52. Shaheed caught five for 66, including the 42-yarder to the Denver 27 that still ended in the Myers miss. He also had 77 kick-return yards and 39 on punts. Kupp caught five for 50. Jaylen Waddle had four for 24. Courtland Sutton had two for 19.

Jones led Seattle with nine tackles and a sack, his third straight week with one. Seven Denver players had at least half a sack: Zach Allen, McMillian, Bonitto, Strnad, Elliss, Que Robinson, and Malcolm Roach. Roach had four quarterback hits. Abrams-Draine's interception was his first since 2024, the Broncos said.

Payton called the defense magnificent and added that 4-2 could easily be 2-4. Nix said he does not know why Denver cannot push the ball vertically. Mike Macdonald said the quarterback is getting hit way too much, and that there are no moral victories. Darnold credited Vance Joseph's front. Seattle has lost three of its last four, all by three points or fewer, and has 10 turnovers in those games, the club wrote. Three of them came Thursday.

The Broncos improved to 6-0 in throwback uniforms, their site said, and to 33-23-2 in overtime. Seattle fell to 19-30-1 in extra time.

AthX Engine on a 168-yard win

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Thursday line in. Abrams-Draine's interception, three pass breakups, and the forced fumble nflverse lists on Shaheed's kickoff return land at 64.00, the top total in this game. McMillian's sack, interception, and two pass breakups are 59.50. Smith-Njigba is 39.50. Alex Singleton is 37.00. Jones is 34.50. Shaheed is 25.30. Darnold is 24.99. Allen is 24.50. Denver's team line is 53.00. Seattle's is 4.75.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Broncos defense that keeps winning with 107 passing yards, and for a Seahawks skill group that piled up yards after it was already 14-3. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Nix, Darnold, Smith-Njigba, Lutz, and both clubs on the marketplace. Kansas City visits Seattle on Oct. 25. Arizona visits Denver that afternoon.

*Sources: ESPN recap (AP), Broncos.com, Seahawks.com, NFL gamebook, AP. NFL gamebook, both clubs, ESPN scoring plays, and nflverse agree on 17-14 OT, Darnold 27-of-51 for 278, Nix 17-of-27 for 107, Lutz 53, Myers 55/34 (missed 47). AP/ESPN copy placed McMillian's pick at the Denver 43; the gamebook and the four-play, 8-yard drive from the Seattle 43 are the line we used. Broncos wrap called Shaheed's lost fumble a catch; the gamebook and Seahawks wrap have it as a left-end run, Bonitto force, Strnad recovery. AthX Engine Week 6 lines scored from nflverse weekly stats (CC-BY 4.0). Information only; not financial advice.*