The Denver Broncos hung on to another thrilling victory on Thursday night, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 in overtime. But stop me if you've heard this before: It wasn't pretty.
That is becoming the best way to describe nearly every Broncos victory this season and even dating back to last season, but the team just keeps finding a way. On one hand, you can view the Broncos as a battle-tested team. On the other hand, you have to question how long the team can keep winning games this way.
This game was a tale of two different sides of the ball, and what's discussed in the good, bad and ugly from it will clearly detail that fact. The Broncos held a 14-3 lead going into the fourth quarter before surviving a furious comeback attempt by Seattle.
However, it should have never gotten to that point.
Good, bad and ugly from Broncos' win over Seahawks
The good
Broncos' pass rush: This was the biggest difference in this game, as the Broncos flustered Sam Darnold all night, sacking him five times and forcing several errant throws. Quietly, the game's most valuable player may have been Que Robinson.
Robinson had four tackles and a sack in this game, but he forced several pressures and was the reason for a key fourth-quarter interception thrown by Darnold that should have wrapped things up.
Cornerback play: The Broncos needed some players to step up in this game with Pat Surtain II and Talanoa Hufanga out of the lineup due to injury, and Riley Moss dressing for action but hardly playing, as he was likely still not 100 percent recovered from the rib injury that kept him out last week.
Kris Abrams-Draine and Jahdae Barron did just that. While Jaxon Smith-Njigba posted big numbers, both corners played quite well in this game, particularly Abrams-Draine. He had six tackles, three passes defensed and an interception late in the game that probably should have been a game-winner.
The bad
Jaylen Waddle again non-existent: The Broncos needed a playmaker in the worst way and that was the reason for the big trade orchestrated by the front office to acquire Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins. All that's missing now is the big plays.
Waddle did leave this game briefly with a shoulder injury, but he was a non-factor again, catching four passes for 24 yards. He has to be extremely frustrated.
Running game: This will likely be in the bad or ugly category going forward. This team just cannot run the ball. The Broncos averaged just 2.6 yards on their 28 carries in this game. It's a good thing the team has such a great defense.
The ugly
The offense and everything to do with it: Denver's offense is just putrid and it's more than a bad trend at this point. It's mostly due to the play at the quarterback position, but this offense is not doing anything well. The Broncos averaged 2.9 yards per play in this game and gained just 168 yards of total offense. In fact, check out this statistic:
🚨 DENVER BRONCOS HISTORY
— Novig (@Novig) October 16, 2026
The Broncos just won a game with fewer than 175 total yards for the first time since 1983:
- 1983 vs. Steelers: Under 175 yards
- TONIGHT vs. Seahawks: 167 yards
The 1983 game was John Elway's first career start. https://t.co/sirNEymVtO pic.twitter.com/CJWnP1goxi
Bo Nix: That brings us to Bo Nix, who deserves to stand alone in the ugly category following this performance. Nix threw for just 107 yards in this game, but it's not just the statistics that look bad. His body language says it all.
Nix looks like a player going through the motions. There is no passion, no urgency to play any better. He looks like a completely different player than we saw in his first two seasons and it's more than fair to ask if he's still not fully recovered from the broken ankle that ended his season last year, because it seems to be either that or he's scared to make plays.
There were instances in this game where he held onto the ball way too long, almost refusing to throw it. But there were two plays in particular that were inexcusable.
Following Abrams-Draine's interception, there was 1:31 left to play and the Broncos held a 14-11 lead. Seattle still had all three timeouts remaining, so one first down was necessary. After two run plays went nowhere, the Broncos lined Nix up in shotgun (terrible play call) and had him roll out, looking for a screen pass. Not only did he not complete the pass, but he nearly threw it right into the hands of Uchenna Nwosu.
But where is the awareness? Why not just give yourself up in order to at least force Seattle to use that final timeout? Instead, the Broncos have to punt the ball away and the Seahawks easily move the ball into field-goal range to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, Ja'Quan McMillian came up with a huge interception of Darnold. Again, the Broncos are unable to even get a first down. On 4th-and-2, coach Sean Payton calls a designed run for Nix and he makes a terrible effort to even get back to the line of scrimmage, let alone a first down. Last year, Nix would have picked that up easily. This year, he's just not the same player.
That forced Wil Lutz to come out and boot a 53-yard field goal to win it. Fortunately, that went through and the Broncos celebrated the win. But if the team lost this game, it would be almost entirely the fault of Nix and his horrendous play.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: The good, the bad and the ugly from Broncos' 17-14 win over Seahawks
