Seattle, Sam Darnold Are Struggling: 3 Takeaways From Broncos' OT Win vs. Seahawks

In a game that looked like a 1980s flashback with the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos wearing their throwback uniforms from their AFC West rivalry days, the defending Super Bowl champs appear to have lost their swagger.

The Broncos took a double-digit lead into halftime, but needed overtime to escape with a 17-14 victory over the visiting Seahawks in primetime on Thursday night.

The victory upped Denver’s record to 4-2 on the year and improved their home record to 17-3 since the start of the 2024 season, while Seattle dropped to the .500 mark at 3-3 for the first time this season.

The reeling Seahawks have lost three of their last four games.

The Broncos remain fortunate in close games.

All four of Denver's wins this season have come by seven points or fewer, and dating back to last season, the Broncos have won their last 14 regular-season games decided by a single score.

Here are my takeaways.

Since returning from a glute injury, Darnold’s struggles have continued for Seattle.

He finished 27 of 51 for 278 yards, with no touchdown passes and two interceptions — and both picks came at a bad time.

The first one was on a bad throw that stopped a potential scoring drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and the second one came in overtime, which sealed Seattle’s fate.

Darnold now has seven interceptions this season, and he was under duress most of the night by Denver’s defense and didn’t make many plays down the field.

Darnold was sacked five times and struggled to handle Denver’s pressure.

Darnold finished 6 of 19 for 47 yards and two interceptions when pressured by the Broncos’ defensive front, according to Next Gen Stats.

It’s fair to wonder if the Seahawks might consider a change to Drew Lock at quarterback, who played well while Darnold was injured.