Broncos kicker Wil Lutz drilled a 53-yard field goal in overtime to elevate Denver to a 17-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Seattle got the ball first in sudden death and faced a third-and-7 from its own 28. Sam Darnold tried forcing a throw into double coverage along the sideline, losing sight of Denver cornerback JaQuan McMillian. McMillian read it the entire way, stepped in front for the pick, and set the Broncos up at Seattles 43-yard line.
Broncos HC Sean Payton ran the ball three straight times to milk the clock and center the hash, and Lutz did the rest.
With clock management blunders headlining last week’s slate of NFL action, it was refreshing to watch a coach who knows how to properly win a game.
For the first twenty minutes, Paytons script was dialed to perfection.
Denver dominated time of possession and built a 14-3 halftime lead behind two methodical touchdown drives finished off on short plunges by J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. Then came the second half.
Denvers offense looked like a unit that had never practiced together. Bo Nix finished the night with only 107 passing yards and zero downfield threat.
Seattle mounted a fierce fourth-quarter comeback, pulling within 14-11 on a George Holani touchdown and a two-point conversion pass from Darnold to Rashid Shaheed. After Denver stalled out again with barely a minute left, Jason Myers nailed a 34-yard field goal with three seconds on the clock to force overtime.
The Broncos managed just 36 yards on eight second-half possessions, racked up three-and-outs, and turned punter Jeremy Crawshaw into the busiest man in Colorado.
If you sat through the final two quarters of that Denver offense, you are owed an apology. The only reason Denver didn’t get blown out was Vance Joseph’s defense.
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Playing without Patrick Surtain II, Denvers front seven spent all night hitting Darnold. The Broncos dropped him five times and generated turnovers whenever Seattle threatened to take control. Nik Bonitto stripped wideout Rashid Shaheed in scoring territory, Kris Abrams-Draine pulled down a fourth-quarter interception, and McMillian delivered the dagger in overtime.
Seattle put up 353 total yards and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 12 passes for 134 yards, but three turnovers wiped it all out.
Bo Nix has plenty to clean up, and Payton gets a 10-day mini-bye before hosting the Arizona Cardinals to figure out how to move the ball past the line of scrimmage. It was ugly, but it counts in the standings as the Broncos move to 4-2, sitting behind undefeated Kansas City.
Denver’s defense won a game they had no business winning, and Darnold gave them the assist when it mattered most.
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