It is officially that time of the week again! The Seattle Seahawks are traveling a mile into the atmosphere to play the Denver Broncos, which means it is time for us to take you dear readers on another journey Behind Enemy Lines.
The Broncos are not a team the Seahawks face all that often anymore. Not since they stopped beind division rivals starting in 2002. Overall, Denver leads the series 35-23 but the Seahawks have dominated as of late. Seattle has won four of the last five meetings, including the last two. This current stretch began with the Seahawks' triumphant 43-8 victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
But enough from me! We spoke with our friend Brandon Walker, a contributor over at our sister site Broncos Wire, to get a better
idea of the kind of team Seattle will be facing tonight. Our questions and Walker's answers are below.
No. 1 - Bo Nix is seemingly struggling this year. Is it his ankle, or is there something else at play?
Nix has recently struggled; but his early-season struggles are not new. Dating back to 2024, it took Nix at least 5-6 games to get into form. There have been reports of his ankle being sore and stiff when flying (as it was reported during the San Francisco game in Week 4), but I don't think it's fully his ankle. I think he is in his head, and Nix said as much this week. He doesn't want to make mistakes, and it's easier in his mind to just throw it away and live another down.
No. 2 - Sean Payton recently took over play calling duties again. What impact has that had?
Payton has had those playcalling duties since taking over the team in 2024; after giving those duties to offensive coordinator Davis Webb, and seeing the offense fall off a cliff from where they were at the end of 2025, it was rough to watch. It's only been one week since he took over those playcalling duties again, so I think we have to wait and see. Payton is one of the best offensive minds of his generation, and arguably, in NFL history.
No. 3 - What is the most surprising thing you've noticed about this Denver team this year?
The most surprising thing I've seen is how much the pass rush has fallen off since losing John Franklin-Myers in free agency, and Jonathon Cooper to his alleged legal troubles which landed him on the Commissioner's exempt list. For a team that was close to breaking the NFL single-season sack record in 2025, this defense has taken a step backwards in the statistical sense.
No. 4 - Who is a non-household Bronco that the 12th Man should be aware of?
I said it last week, and will say it again, the name to watch will be Jahdae Barron. Barron, the second-year cornerback out of Texas, is now getting more playing time with the injuries to All-Pro Pat Surtain and Riley Moss, who stands opposite of Surtain most all the time. Surprisingly, the Los Angeles Chargers did not target Barron last week (although they were running the NFL equivalent of "The Longest Yard" wide receivers out there), but I do expect Barron to be guarding Jaxon Smith-Njigba this Thursday.
No. 5 - Who wins and why?
I think since Denver is so banged up this game, it could get away from them quickly. Missing two All-Pros from 2025 in the secondary is tough for any team, and will be hard for the Broncos to overcome. My hopes would be to see the Broncos offense look better this week, but we may have to wait until Week 7 to see that happen. I think Seattle comes away with a hard-fought, physical win, 24-18.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Behind Enemy Lines: 5 things to know about the Denver Broncos
