The Denver Broncos barely hung on to defeat the Seattle Seahawks in a 17-14 overtime victory on Thursday Night Football last night. Here are five quick takeaways coming out of that ugly win.
1. Denver’s defense dominated: The Broncos' defense carried the team, especially in the second half. Vance Joseph's unit ended the night with 17 quarterback hits, nine pass breakups, five sacks, two interceptions and a forced (and recovered) fumble. Seven different defenders recorded at least a half sack as the unit harassed Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold throughout the contest.
2. Luke Wattenberg's snaps are becoming a serious problem: Wattenberg's snap delivery has been extremely erratic, and if it's not corrected (or if Wattenberg isn't replaced), it will
eventually cost the Broncos. One of Wattenberg's bad snaps killed a drive on Thursday. If the trend of bad snaps continues, it could directly lead to a turnover, or even a loss.
3. Broncos' backup cornerbacks stepped up: Pat Surtain (ankle) remained sidelined and Riley Moss (ribs) was limited, leaving Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine to step up once again. Jaxon Smith-Njigba heated up in the fourth quarter, ending the game with 12 receptions for 134 yards, but Denver held him out of the end zone and limited Seattle's offense to just one touchdown overall. KAD secured an interception and slot cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian essentially sealed the win with an overtime interception. The Broncos have incredible depth at cornerback.
4. Bo Nix was bad, and Denver's offense struggled: After taking a 14-3 lead into halftime, the Broncos' offense had six straight punts and then a kneel-down in the second half before OT. Nix completed 17 of his 27 passes (63%) for 107 yards with no scores (and fortunately, no turnovers). Believe it or not, his performance arguably looked worse than those pitiful numbers suggest. Nix appeared afraid to run and made several poor decisions late in the game that nearly cost a win. It seems that the third-year quarterback is either in his head (perhaps because of his ankle), or he has significantly regressed. Either option is very concerning for the team's long-term outlook.
5. Broncos have a much-needed mini bye to recover: Jaylen Waddle briefly left the game with a shoulder injury, Tyler Badie injured his thumb and did not return and Jonah Elliss was carted off the field late in the fourth. Surtain and safety Talanoa Hufanga (ankle) also remain sidelined. Fortunately, Denver now has a mini bye to potentially help some of those players recover. After playing on TNF, the Broncos will have 10 days until they play again on Oct. 25.
Up next on Denver's schedule is a road game against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 5 takeaways from Broncos' overtime win vs. Seahawks on 'TNF'
