Broncos stun Seahawks 17-14 in overtime as Darnold's late picks undo Seattle comeback

Final: Broncos 17, Seahawks 14 (OT) | Empower Field at Mile High, Denver

Seattle outgained Denver 353 yards to 168, ran 82 plays to Denver's 57, and held the ball for more than 35 minutes. None of it mattered. Ja'Quan McMillian picked off Sam Darnold on Seattle's first overtime possession, and Wil Lutz drilled a 53-yard field goal four plays later to give the Denver Broncos a 17-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.

Denver improves to 4-2. Seattle, the defending Super Bowl champion, falls to 3-3 after its second loss in five days and has already matched last season's loss total.

How it happened

Jason Myers opened the scoring with a 55-yard field goal in the first quarter, and for a while that looked like it might be enough to keep Seattle in front. Then Bo Nix and Sean Payton, in his second game back calling plays, went to work. Denver put together a 16-play, 69-yard drive that ended with J.K. Dobbins plowing in from 4 yards out early in the second quarter, the Broncos' longest drive of the season by plays.

The next Denver touchdown came with help. A face mask penalty extended the drive, Dobbins ripped off 16 yards, and a 20-yard pass interference call on Devon Witherspoon set up first and goal at the 1. RJ Harvey took a direct snap in and Denver led 14-3 with 5:15 left in the half. Seattle's response ended in a Rashid Shaheed fumble at the Denver 34.

Then the game went quiet. Denver's offense stalled after halftime, punting on every possession of the second half. Seattle could not cash in either: Myers clanged a 47-yard try off the right upright in the third quarter, and Darnold was sacked repeatedly as drives stalled.

The comeback

Down 14-3 with under 10 minutes left, Seattle finally found a rhythm. Darnold hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 16 yards, converted a fourth-and-4 to Smith-Njigba, scrambled 18 yards on third-and-10, and George Holani ran 13 yards to the 1 before punching it in. Darnold found Shaheed on the two-point try, and it was 14-11 with 5:41 left.

Seattle's defense forced another three-and-out, with sacks by Ernest Jones and Nick Emmanwori, and the Seahawks drove to the Denver 39 behind a 32-yard strike to Smith-Njigba. On third-and-1, Darnold threw for Tory Horton and Kris Abrams-Draine intercepted at the Denver 31 with 1:25 left. It looked over.

It was not. Denver ran 15 seconds off the clock and punted, Shaheed returned it 31 yards to midfield, and Darnold moved Seattle into range with a 17-yard completion to Cooper Kupp. Myers hit from 34 yards with 3 seconds left to tie it at 14.

Overtime

Seattle got the ball first, but a holding penalty on the opening kickoff pinned the Seahawks at their 13. On third-and-7 from the 28, Darnold threw for Shaheed and McMillian jumped the route near midfield. Denver ran three plays for 8 yards, and Lutz's 53-yarder ended it.

Standout performers

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle: 12 catches on 16 targets for 134 yards, including the 32-yarder on the drive that ended in the Abrams-Draine interception.

Ja'Quan McMillian, Denver: the game-deciding overtime interception plus a sack and five tackles.

Rashid Shaheed, Seattle: 5 catches for 66 yards, a 42-yard reception, the two-point catch, and the 31-yard punt return that set up the tying field goal. He also lost a fumble and was the intended receiver on the overtime interception.

Sam Darnold, Seattle: 27 of 51 for 278 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and five sacks taken. Denver hit him 17 times, per the AP.

Denver's defense: missing Patrick Surtain II and Talanoa Hufanga, it still held Seattle to 184 yards through three quarters, per ESPN, and allowed one touchdown. Bo Nix was a modest 17 of 27 for 107 yards, while Dobbins ran 17 times for 41 yards and a score.

Injuries

Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo left late in the first half with an apparent right shoulder injury while diving for a fumble. Broncos running back Tyler Badie hurt a thumb in the second quarter, and receiver Jaylen Waddle was checked for a shoulder injury in the third quarter but returned, per the AP.

What it means

Denver comes out of a tough six-week opening stretch at 4-2 despite an injury-riddled roster and an offense that managed just 168 yards. Seattle is now 3-3 with consecutive losses, and the offense, which scored three points on its first eight drives, is the concern. Darnold has thrown seven interceptions over the last four games, per The Seattle Times.

What's next

Both teams get extra rest. Seattle hosts the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Oct. 25, and Denver hosts the Arizona Cardinals the same day.

Thursday Night Line: how our leans did

Seahawks -2.5: Loss. Denver won outright by 3.

Under 40.5: Win. The game finished with 31 points, even with overtime.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba anytime TD: Loss. Big night (12 catches, 134 yards) but no touchdown. Seattle's only TD was Holani's 1-yard run.

Thursday Night Line: 1-2-0. Combined season record (Monday plus Thursday): 4-2-0.

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Sources: Associated Press (via CBS Sports), CBS Sports box score and play-by-play, Seahawks.com, ESPN, NFL.com, The Seattle Times.

Cover photo: Empower Field at Mile High exterior, by Troutfarm27, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.