Broncos win on late turnover as Darnold's mistakes loom largest
The Denver Broncos beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 in overtime Thursday night after Ja'Quan McMillian intercepted a Sam Darnold pass in the extra period and Will Lutz drilled a 53-yard field goal to end it. The result moved Denver to 4-2 while dropping the Seahawks to 3-3.
Darnold finished the night 27-of-51 for 278 yards and threw two interceptions, one of which came in overtime and helped set up Denver’s game-winning kick. He recorded a 52.6 passer rating and was under duress all night — hit 17 times and sacked five times by the Broncos’ front.
After the loss, Darnold repeatedly shouldered responsibility for the turnovers. "I just think it's B.S for me to keep turning the ball over," he said, adding that his mistakes were unfair to teammates. "It's not fair to our defense, it's not fair to our special teams group, not fair really to the entire team. So I've got to be better that way."
Pressure, play-calling and missed explosive plays
Denver's defensive approach — forcing Seattle to throw the ball often — was part of the plan. The Broncos wanted Darnold to beat them through volume rather than letting the Seahawks' run game dictate the day, and Seattle complied with 51 pass attempts.
The constant pressure paid dividends. Darnold's five sacks were the result of sustained pressure as Denver's defense repeatedly got home; Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald was blunt afterward: "The quarterback's getting hit way too much." Seattle's offensive burst late in regulation — an 11-0 run capped by Jason Myers' 34-yard field goal with three seconds left — temporarily masked the trouble, but the overtime turnover erased the comeback.
Seattle's inability to generate consistent explosive plays compounded the issue. "I just think we’re really, for some reason, struggling to find those explosive plays," a Seahawks player said. The sequence that tied the game began with a 31-yard punt return that set Seattle up at midfield, but the team could not sustain that momentum past overtime.
What the performance means for Darnold's standing as a starter
The numbers from Mile High — two interceptions, a sub-53 passer rating and five sacks — create a simple, unavoidable narrative: turnovers and protection failures combined to hand the Broncos a path to victory.
On one hand, Darnold completed a high volume of passes and moved the offense enough to force overtime, showing durability and capacity to push plays downfield. On the other, the interceptions and the passer rating underline inefficiency, and the number of times he was hit raises questions about both Seattle's protection and Darnold's pocket management under pressure.
Those conflicting elements leave Darnold's immediate future as Seattle's starter subject to scrutiny rather than decisive action. The interceptions directly set up Denver's winning kick in overtime, and the Broncos' strategy to make Seattle throw over 50 times largely worked — a combination that will factor into evaluations of game planning, line play and the quarterback's decision-making going forward.
For the Seahawks, the loss is more than a missed W; it's a snapshot of recurring issues. The defense held strong for large stretches, and special teams helped create a late opportunity, but offensive inconsistency and turnovers have tangible consequences. Darnold publicly acknowledged his role and pledged to be better; how the organization responds in its game plans and schematic protection will be critical to whether those pledges translate into safer, cleaner football from the pocket.
Thursday's game tightened the margin for error. With Seattle falling to 3-3 and Denver improving to 4-2, the Seahawks now face a stretch where answers on protection, playmaking and ball security must emerge.
