The Seattle Seahawks lost 17-14 in overtime to the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football and now sit 3-3 on the season. They played about as bad a first half as you could imagine, made clutch plays throughout the second half to give themselves a chance, and ultimately came up short. Veteran defensive tackle Leonard Williams summarized the performance best in the team’s postgame press conference
.“It’s mixed emotions. I felt like we showed that we have each other’s back, we stay connected, and we fight ‘til the end of the game. There [were] definitely times where things were not going our way, but we just kept staying in it.”
Rashid Shaheed could be an honorable mention on both sides tonight. Without his clutch 42-yard catch and 2-point conversion,
they might not have had the late-game opportunities they did. He also fumbled on a run play and muffed a punt, though, when ball security was one of the team’s biggest priorities.
We’ll evaluate the tape in detail this week, but with the performance still fresh in our minds, here are your Studs and Duds for Week 6.
STUDS
Dark Side Defense
The Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense played a whale of a game in almost every way imaginable. Despite their recent run game woes, Seattle had a whopping 82 offensive plays to Denver’s 57. The Seahawks’ defense allowed the Broncos offense to gain just 168 total yards on the night, and two total first downs in the second half and overtime combined. The Broncos went just 3-for-14 on third down, and couldn’t convert a single one for the final 41:51 of the game. They gave the offense every chance to win the game tonight. They made a tough watch into a winnable performance.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
As the best wide receiver in the NFL, Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN) has plenty of nicknames. Tonight, he was Jaxon Smith-Inevitable. Despite not touching the ball from 12:03 in the first quarter to 12:04 in the third, he ended the game with 12 receptions on 16 targets for 134 yards. He had an edge to him that all-time greats get when they want to carry their team to victory. The chip on his shoulder showed up in his play strength, when he caught a 32-yard pass in triple coverage with just 2:42 left in regular time. It stuck to his hands even as the trio of Denver defenders converged on him and they all ended in a collision on the ground. Not only does he lead the offense with the heaviest receiving workload in the league, but he’s become one of the team’s true leaders by example.
Nick Emmanwori
The Seahawks play Nick Emmanwori as a linebacker now, and that might have always been his best spot. He did everything asked of him well. They asked him to run-and-chase. He grabbed five solo tackles, was in on seven total and had one tackle for loss. They asked him to spy Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. He kept Nix at bay as soon as head coach Sean Payton’s script ran out. His sack was a culmination of multiple good aspects of linebacker play. He held his ground against an offensive lineman to set the edge, never let Nix get outside leverage, and took a near-perfect path to bring him to the turf for a 10-yard loss. With him as a QB spy, the Seahawks should be able to do the same to any other running QBs they face in the future.
DUDS
Grey Zabel
Seattle’s young stud left guard Grey Zabel has had a rough go of it in 2026. He has played two of the deadliest interior defensive lines the past two weeks in Denver and San Francisco, but hasn’t improved in the pass-blocking department after being exposed late last year. He had his hands full trying to block Zach Allen tonight, and this game proved just how far he has to go to become one of the league’s best. He was also called for two penalties — a false start and a holding — in the second half. Iron sharpens iron, but the next test won’t get any easier against the Kansas City Chiefs next week. Their IDL might be just as good as the last two.
Sam Darnold
The Seahawks have a gunslinging quarterback in Sam Darnold, and roller coaster performances come along with that title — especially against elite defenses. While he showed the toughness of Philip Rivers and the arm talent of Brett Favre, the decision-making looked like Favre’s at his worst, costing his team the game. The entire offense had a poor first half, and Amazon Prime’s broadcast even put up a stat that Darnold had been pressured on 47.0% of dropbacks near the end of the second quarter — the second-most of any quarterback this season. In the second half, it still looked like he was getting blasted every play as he threw, with blood on his arms and in visible pain. He ended up throwing two interceptions in the final seven minutes of the game, and although they’re never as bad as they initially look, turnovers are the only way this team loses. Darnold deserves a Dud selection, but can silence doubters once again with a big performance against the Chiefs.
Brian Fleury
As a new offensive coordinator, Brian Fleury is only six weeks into calling plays for the first time in his life. His play-calling felt way too old-school for the matchup this week. When JSN didn’t touch the ball for 29:59 of the game, it felt like Seattle brought muskets to World War III.
It’s tough being compared to Klint Kubiak, who was clearly ahead of his time last season and still received criticism down the stretch — but Fleury has a harder time involving his entire arsenal of weaponry. Receivers Shaheed and Tory Horton Jr. and tight end AJ Barner haven’t consistently produced early on. It suddenly feels like there are too many mouths to feed.
It was even more apparent tonight when he faced Sean Payton, who’s called plays for over 290 games in his NFL coaching career, and cooked up the perfect tricks to score before Seattle’s Dark Side defense could get settled. Both defenses are elite, and Fleury’s rise to stardom likely wasn’t going to come immediately against the league’s best — but he hasn’t run a modern enough offense to quell doubts about his game plan thus far.
Last year, Kubiak got to boat race the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals’ soft defenses in the first half of the season to find his footing and get everyone touches. Fleury’s had to face world beaters in back-to-back weeks. He needs to show growth by letting the offense open up. Stop forcing the ball to players. Utilize all the grass to make sure there’s always someone open. He’s too intent on attacking defenses in their strong spots right now.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks' Studs and Duds in Week 6 overtime loss to Broncos
