The stakes are high when the Denver Broncos host the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. Finding a way to topple the defending Super Bowl champions is going to be extremely difficult. Here are three players that need to perform at a high level in order for Denver to earn their fourth victory of the season.
Riley Moss — Cornerback
On a short week, it’s still uncertain if Riley Moss is going to play on Thursday Night Football. He has been limited in Denver’s practice sessions thus far. We will probably know much more
sometime this afternoon in that respect. In the event he doesn’t, you can just throw in “Whoever is tasked with covering Jaxon Smith-Njigba” here instead.
The Broncos have faced some really good offenses to start the season. In my mind, there is no doubt Smith-Njigba is the premier playmaker for the Seahawks on offense. He is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year. The star wide receiver already has four 100 receiving yard performances this season, seven touchdowns, and is on pace to shatter the career best numbers he put up last in 2025.
Denver’s banged up secondary will be without Patrick Surtain II and Talanoa Hufanga. That will make it even harder to limit Smith-Njigba’s impact. If Moss is a go, I expect most of that responsibility to be on his shoulders.
The savvy wideout can beat you deep and he can create after the catch. He’s one of the most well-rounded receivers in the NFL. I’m very interested to see what kind of coverage plan Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph has in store to keep him from having a huge game.
Jaylen Waddle — Wide Receiver
The Broncos traded multiple premium picks to add Jaylen Waddle to their receiving corps. The hope was that the sixth-year wideout would be an impact player for the team and take their passing attack to new heights. Unfortunately, Waddle has been missing in action for most of the season.
Outside of the Broncos’ Week 2 win versus the Jacksonville Jaguars where he had eight catches for 138 yards, the sixth-year wideout hasn’t made much of an impact. He has just 18 catches for 204 yards and 1 touchdown. Through five games, Waddle is sporting the worst catch percentage of his career at 58-percent.
The Seahawks have been phenomenal shutting down opposing team’s passing attacks. Even so, this is a game where Waddle has to make an impact for the Broncos. They invested a lot of resources to acquire him, and the early returns aren’t too great. Can he rebound and be a difference maker in primetime? Denver will need that to happen to be victorious.
Bo Nix — Quarterback
It’s been a slow start to Bo Nix’s third season as the starting quarterback of the Broncos. I’m quite honestly surprised. I felt he was poised for a big jump in productivity and efficiency. Unfortunately, the results thus far aren’t great.
In four of five games, Nix has thrown for less than 215 yards. Four of those contests have resulted in a completion percentage below at or below 60-percent. He has also had a turnover in four of five games. He has one of the worst EPA ranking for any quarterback in the NFL.
The Seahawks sport a very good defense. They force turnovers, are fantastic on third down, and are allowing just 150 yards per game through the air. This will be a very tough game for Nix to get back on track. However, the Broncos desperately need a spark and much better play from their third-year signal caller.
Can he hit some concepts over the middle of the field? Will he be able to find a few big plays down the field like he did often during the ’25 season? I have no idea if that transpires. If it does, I really like Denver’s chances of winning. Most importantly, I also think a good performance would give him a much-needed boost of confidence. I don’t expect an elite performance, but I want to see a good outing from Bo on Thursday Night Football.
