The conversation, however it’s resolved, needs to be had.
Should the Seahawks turn to Drew Lock over Sam Darnold at quarterback?
Darnold has seven interceptions in four full games (he handled five snaps of the Week 1 game against the Patriots). Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and no picks in most of the Patriots game and all of the Week 2 game against the Cardinals.
Darnold has started four games since returning from his glute injury. He’s 1-3.
Said Darnold on Tuesday, regarding the miscues: “I’m going to continue to be as decisive as I can be and go through my reads and trust what I see, trust my feet, all those things. Can’t have turnovers. You have to protect the football in this league. If you don’t, you’ll pay.”
For a running back like James Cook of the Bills, a turnover problem could mean fewer reps and touches in the tailback rotation. For a quarterback, it’s all or nothing; he either takes all the snaps, or he takes none of them.
At some point, the Seahawks need to ask themselves whether Lock should be the one taking the snaps.
Obviously, benching Darnold would likely mean the Seahawks would move on in 2027. His $35.5 million in compensation for next year, the last of his contract, isn’t guaranteed. He earns a $10 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year in March.
The Seahawks may ultimately decide to ride or die with Darnold for the rest of the season. But they at least need to have the conversation about making a switch, and the possibility of being benched at some point needs to be on the table in order to underscore Darnold’s assessment.
“You have to protect the football in this league. If you don’t, you’ll pay.”
Seahawks Clips
The Broncos had not lost a home game leading by 11 or more points in the fourth quarter since a 2004 loss to the Raiders. They still haven’t.
The Seahawks rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but Sam Darnold threw an interception on the first possession of the extra period. Ja’Quan McMillian’s pick at the Seattle 43 put the Broncos in field-goal range, and Wil Lutz kicked a 53-yard field goal to win it 17-14.
The Broncos moved to 4-2, while the Seahawks fell to 3-3.
In the second half, the Broncos had 30 yards and two first downs, going 0-for-6 on third down. Bo Nix was 7-of-12 for 29 yards in the final 30 minutes.
The Broncos gained only 8 yards on their game-winning, overtime field-goal drive, but it was enough.
The Seahawks couldn’t get out of their own way all night: They had 91 yards and three points in the first half; Rashid Shaheed lost a fumble; Jason Myers missed a 47-yard field goal off the right upright in the third quarter; and Darnold threw two picks in crunch time.
The Seahawks were in field-goal range to tie the game late in the fourth quarter when Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine intercepted Darnold, undercutting Tory Horton at the Denver 31. The pick with 1:25 left didn’t end the game as the Seahawks had all three timeouts.
The Broncos burned only 15 seconds off the clock before Shaheed returned Jeremy Crawshaw’s punt 31 yards to the Seattle 46. Eight plays and 38 yards later, the game was tied on Myers 34-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in regulation.
The Seahawks had six drives inside the Denver 40 but had only a field goal, a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to show for it.
Seattle outgained Denver 353 to 168, with Darnold going 27-of-51 for 278 yards with two picks. He was pressured on 24 of his dropbacks, and the Broncos sacked him five times.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 12 passes for 134 yards after having only two catches for 11 yards at halftime.
Nix finished 17-of-27 for 107 yards, with RJ Harvey catching three passes for 31 yards. Harvey and J.K. Dobbins scored the Broncos’ touchdowns on short runs.
The Seahawks have their first touchdown of the night, and Thursday Night Football has a game.
George Holani scored on a 1-yard run, and Rashid Shaheed caught a 2-point conversion on a pass that Sam Darnold threw up for grabs. It has the Seahawks within 14-11 of the Broncos.
The Seahawks went 67 yards in 11 plays, converting a third-and-long and a fourth-and-medium.
Sam Darnold threw a 7-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the Denver 32 on fourth-and-4 and later converted a third-and-10 with an 18-yard scramble.
Jason Myers missed a 47-yard field goal off the right upright in the third quarter or the game would be tied.
Darnold is 20-of-38 for 195 yards.
The Broncos have a banged up secondary. It hasn’t mattered.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit forced three punts, recovered a fumble and allowed only a field goal. The Broncos lead 14-3 at halftime.
The Seahawks have 91 yards, including only 40 net passing yards, and are 2-for-6 on third down.
Sam Darnold is 7-of-15 for 52 yards and has been sacked twice. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has only two catches for 11 yards.
Sean Payton, who took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb a game ago, has called a more balanced game with 17 runs and 15 passes, and the Broncos have 130 yards.
The Broncos had scored only 23 first-half points in their first five games combined.
Bo Nix is 10-of-15 for 78 yards, with running back RJ Harvey catching three for 31.
J.K. Dobbins has 11 carries for 35 yards.
The Seahawks lost tight end Elijah Arroyo, who injured his shoulder while trying to recover Rashid Shaheed’s fumble. He is doubtful to return. The Broncos have ruled out running back Tyler Badie with a left thumb injury.
The Broncos entered Thursday night ranked 30th in total offense, including 25th in rushing. They are having no problem moving the ball against the league’s No. 1 defense, though.
The Broncos have 125 yards, including 51 rushing, after three drives against the Seahawks.
RJ Harvey’s 1-yard touchdown run with 5:15 remaining in the first half has the Broncos holding a 14-3 lead.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon was called for a 20-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Courtland Sutton in the end zone to set up Harvey’s score.
J.K. Dobbins scored the team’s first touchdown on a 4-yard run.
Dobbins has 10 carries for 35 yards and Harvey three carries for 10 yards.
Bo Nix is 9-of-13 for 74 yards.
The Broncos looked more like the Broncos of 2025 on their second drive Thursday night. Denver went 74 yards in 16 plays and 8:39 for a go-ahead touchdown.
J.K. Dobbins’ 4-yard run to the end zone has the Broncos leading 7-3 with 12:52 remaining in the first quarter.
Running back Tyler Badie converted a fourth-and-3 with a 6-yard run to the Seattle 42 to keep the drive going. But Badie then left for the training room and is questionable to return with a left thumb injury.
The Broncos also converted a third-and-8 and a third-and-6, with Bo Nix completions of 9 yards to Evan Engram and 9 yards to Courtland Sutton.
Nix is 7-of-10 for 59 yards, and running back RJ Harvey has three catches for 31 yards.
The Broncos will have cornerback Riley Moss in the lineup against the Seahawks tonight. Moss is not among the team’s inactives despite being questionable due to injured ribs.
He missed Sunday’s game with his injury.
In four games this season, Moss has recorded five passes defensed, an interception and 16 tackles.
His availability is welcome news for the Broncos, who already ruled out cornerback Pat Surtain II (ankle) and safety Talanoa Hufanga (ankle).
They elevated safety Taylor Rapp and defensive back Sean Fresch Jr. from the practice squad to the active roster earlier in the day.
The team’s other inactives are quarterback Sam Ehlinger, offensive lineman Kage Casey, tight end Dallen Bentley, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson and defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim. Ehlinger will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
The Seahawks’ inactives are quarterback Jalen Milroe, linebacker Drake Thomas (ankle), linebacker Chazz Surratt (calf), running back Robert Henry Jr., wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr., defensive tackle Brandon Pili and cornerback Avery Smith.
The Broncos are dealing with several injuries in their defensive backfield, so they elevated a couple of players to help round out the secondary ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Seahawks.
Taylor Rapp and Sean Fresch were both called up from the practice squad. They will revert back after Thursday night’s game is over.
Rapp will help at safety with Talanoa Hufanga sidelined by an ankle injury. Rapp will be making his Broncos debut, but has 488 tackles, 12 interceptions, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries in 93 games for the Bills and Rams.
Fresch returned three kickoffs and made two tackles on special teams last week. He also provides cornerback depth with Pat Surtain II (ankle) out and Riley Moss (ribs) listed as questionable.
The late-afternoon slot on Sundays continues to generate the largest NFL audiences.
Via Nielsen, the Week 5 window that opened at 4:45 p.m. ET averaged 26.697 million viewers.
The headliner was 49ers-Seahawks, with Lions-Cardinals televised at that same time.
The Nielsen calculation began at 4:48 p.m. ET, after the conclusion of the Giants-Commanders game that spilled into the 4:25 p.m. ET window.
The situation resulted in plenty of complaints from Sunday Ticket customers who were not able to watch the game on their local Fox channel, and who could not access the game on Sunday Ticket because it was available in their market. Even if it wasn’t.
We asked the NFL earlier this week whether that glitch would be addressed. The league has not yet responded.
It was the only Week 5 window on Thursday or Sunday that exceeded 20 million. ESPN has not yet released the audience numbers for Bills-Rams. The latest Nielsen report runs through Sunday.
The Broncos may have cornerback Riley Moss in the lineup against the Seahawks on Thursday night, but they’ll be short a couple of defensive backs even if he does play.
Moss is listed as questionable due to injured ribs. Moss did not play in Week 5 and was listed as a limited practice participant all three days this week.
Cornerback Pat Surtain II (ankle) and safety Talanoa Hufanga (ankle) will not be in the lineup. Surtain was injured in Week 4 and has not participated in a practice since his injury. Hufanga was injured in last Sunday’s win over the Chargers and a report on Wednesday indicated he is expected to miss multiple weeks.
Safety Brandon Jones (foot), defensive lineman Sai’vion Jones (shoulder), and guard Ben Powers (biceps) were all full participants in Wednesday’s practice and none of them have injury designations for Thursday.
