The Denver Broncos host the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. The Broncos are coming off a close victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are looking to rebound after losing a nailbiter to the San Francisco 49ers. In order to topple the Seahawks in primetime, here are three things the Broncos have to accomplish.
No more excuses: It’s time for Bo Nix to rip it and deliver through the air
There is no doubt the offense has drastically taken a step back five games into their 2026 gridiron campaign. Broncos Country
is no stranger to slow starts in this respect. However, what we have seen thus far is easily the worst during the Sean Payton era.
Without question, there is a lot of blame to go around. But let’s be brutally honest—quarterback Bo Nix is not playing well at all. There has been no third-year jump from the former first-round pick. In fact, it’s been an abysmal third year slump. All things considered, the Broncos are quite lucky to be 3-2 given his poor play to date.
After their victory over the Chargers, Head Coach Sean Payton expressed confidence with Nix and hopes to see him ‘rip it’ in the weeks to come. But here is the kicker, the Seahawks have one of the best defenses in the NFL. They’ve already forced 11 turnovers on the season. Moreover, they haven’t let an opposing quarterback throw for more than 200 yards on them thus far.
This is arguably the toughest matchup for Nix and the offense yet. Seattle has an elite pass defense. Regardless, that can’t be an excuse for poor play. He needs to step up in the pocket and deliver throws. No more bailing out of clean pockets when there is good enough protection. It’s time for him to start figuring things out.
Star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s impact has to be kept to a minimum
First things first. I came away impressed with how Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine performed against the Chargers. Los Angeles was missing their top trio of receivers which can’t be ignored. Even so, I felt the two cornerbacks performed admirably with Denver’s top boundary duo of Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss sidelined.
Even so, this is one matchup Broncos Country will wish they had Surtain in the starting lineup. Why? Because Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the best receivers in the NFL—a premier playmaker who can do it all.
Smith-Njigba is coming off an incredible 2025 campaign. His performance and production were elite. The fourth-year pro led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards on 119 catches with 10 touchdowns. That was good enough to earn him first-team All-Pro honors, his second Pro-Bowl accolade, as well as the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award.
It’s not going to be easy, but Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph has to come up with a game plan that limits the star wide receiver’s impact on the game. That will be quite the challenge with a banged-up secondary that will likely be without star safety Talanoa Hufanga who suffered an ankle injury late in the game versus the Chargers.
Razor thin margins: The Broncos have to win the turnover battle
One of the best developments for the Broncos this season is their defense being able to take the ball away from opponents. They have forced seven turnovers on defense through five games. In addition, they’ve came up in the clutch along with several additional fourth down stops.
In order to secure a primetime victory on Thursday Night Football, the Broncos will need their defense to continue doing that. Winning the turnover battle, especially with Seattle’s defense being elite at forcing them, is an absolute must.
The past three games, quarterback Sam Darnold has made his fair share of plays through the air. Though he has also made a lot of boneheaded mistakes with five interceptions during that time span. Denver’s pass rush came alive late in the game against the Chargers, but it’s important to keep in mind they were starting four rookies in their offensive trenches.
Seattle’s offensive line isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than what Denver faced on Sunday. Putting pressure on Darnold to force him to make some mistakes will be huge. Hopefully, the Broncos’ defensive front seven can keep their momentum going and come up with a few big plays that help turn the tide in Denver’s favor in primetime.
