Seahawks fall to Broncos after Sam Darnold’s interception in OT

DENVER — One of the more improbable comebacks in recent Seahawks history was sitting right there.

An offense that had done almost nothing all game but give up sacks and QB hits had suddenly come alive, and thanks to a defense that gave up just 38 yards after halftime, victory was stunningly within reach.

Then, as has happened all too often this season, Sam Darnold threw it away.

A Darnold pass intended for Rashid Shaheed on a third-and-seven play from the Seattle 28 on the Seahawks’ first possession of overtime was intercepted — their third turnover in the game and Darnold’s second interception in fourth quarter and overtime — and allowed the Broncos to pull out a 17-14 overtime win.

read more broncos 17, seahawks 14 (OT)

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“Just got greedy,” said Darnold, who said he should have thrown a shorter pass to Cooper Kupp, who might have been able to get the first down, instead of the hole shot to Shaheed.

Denver gained eight yards in three plays to set up Wil Lutz for a 53-yard field goal to win the game the Broncos seemed to have in the bag most of the night.

“No way to sugarcoat it,” Darnold said. “That one sucked. Can’t turn the ball over.”

Indeed, Darnold’s two picks — as well as a second-quarter fumble by Shaheed when the Seahawks were within field-goal range — ruined a herculean effort by the defense, after it allowed two long TD drives by Denver in the first half.

The Seahawks have had three or more turnovers in three of their last four games, all not so coincidentally ending in defeat.

Thanks mostly to that tenacious defense, the Seahawks have been outscored by just eight points in their three losses.

“We’ve got some work ahead of us and we’ll figure it out,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said.

Asked what the team has to figure out, Macdonald said: “Why the ball is in jeopardy so much on offense.”

That’s especially true of Darnold, who has thrown half has many interceptions in the last four games — seven — as he did all last year (14).

“Take care of the ball,” Macdonald said of what Darnold has to do. “Sam knows that; he’d be the first one to tell the team that.”

Darnold was under pressure all night from a Denver defense that, for most of the first 40 minutes, had its way with the Seahawks.

The Seahawks scored 11 points in the final 5:41 to force overtime, and as the Seahawks got the ball first to start overtime and picked up a first down and began moving and the way the Seattle defense was playing, the crowd at Empower Field at Mile High seemed to sense doom.

Then came Darnold’s pick and Lutz’s kick and the Seahawks had fallen to 3-3 with two losses in five days.

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams said the team has not lost faith in Darnold stating: “I feel like we all trust him and I feel like he’ll get out of it.”

Still, the loss puts the Seahawks’ season at an early crisis point with the Seahawks potentially falling behind by three games to the 49ers, who host the Commanders on Monday night. The Seahawks host Kansas City on Oct. 25.

“It’s too early to look at the standings,” Williams said. “Three losses is definitely not going to take us out of making a run for the championship. But it’s definitely time to really home in and focus on what’s stopping us from winning these games.”

Especially since the Seahawks have two-thirds of what could be another Super Bowl contender with the defense and special teams. And the resilience the team showed to get back in the game is where Macdonald wants it.

“We have conflicting emotions,” Macdonald said. “There’s no moral victories in this league; it’s a bottom-line business, a production business. But I am proud of our effort and proud of the resolve of our team. …. However, there’s things we need to get better at quickly.“

It’s the third time this season the Seahawks have rallied from a double-digit deficit to tie or take the lead in the game.

But they have been able to win one of those, a 13-10 win over New England on opening night.

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The Seahawks trailed 14-3 at halftime, a score that accurately reflected how the game evolved on the field.

The Broncos outgained Seattle 130-91 and had scoring drives of 79 and 74 yards, while the Seahawks did not have a drive of longer than 27 on five possessions.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had 15 pass attempts in the first half and was hit just once, by Williams.

But Macdonald praised his staff for doing “a great job” that made some quick adjustments to shut down Denver’s offense the rest of the way.

The Seahawks talked this week about refining their offensive game plan to emphasize plays they’ve used often and with success.

That appeared to result in a plan early to throw a lot of quick passes, specifically out routes to their receivers.

Darnold completed 4 of his first 6 passes, but for just 27 yards and was just 7 of 15 of 52 yards for a long of 12 in the first half.

Three plays into the second quarter, J.K. Dobbins put the Broncos ahead with a 4-yard touchdown in which the right side of the Broncos offensive line pushed back Seahawks vets Jarran Reed and DeMarcus Lawrence.

That capped a 16-play, 74-yard drive that took up a whopping 8:39 and put the Broncos ahead 7-3.

After a Seahawks punt, the Broncos moved 79 yards in nine plays, helped by two defensive penalties good for 35 yards — a face mask by Byron Murphy II on third down and a pass interference by Devon Witherspoon in the end zone — to score on a 1-yard run by R.J. Harvey.

That put the Broncos up 14-3 with 5:15 to play in the first half and the Seahawks looked like a tired team playing a road game on a Thursday.

But the defense stiffened, and Denver didn’t get past its own 44 in the second half.

And still trailing 14-3, the Seahawks drove from their own 33 for a TD to get back in the game midway through the fourth quarter. As running back George Holani used a big push from the offensive line to take it to the 1.

On the next play, Holani burst over the right side and broke through the tackle attempt of safety Brandon Jones and into the end zone with 5:41 left.

The Seahawks cut it to 14-11 on a successful two-point conversion when Darnold’s pass to Shaheed was tipped under double coverage but fell into the hands of Shaheed as he tiptoed in the back of the end zone.

The Seahawks got the ball back and Darnold made his first big error.

On third-and-one at the 39, Darnold was pressured and took a couple steps to his left and tried to hit Tory Horton. The ball floated and cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine cut in front of it for an interception at the 31 with 1:25 remaining.

The Seahawks had all three of their time outs, and they not only got a three-and-out but compelled the Broncos to throw a pass on third down that fell incomplete, stopping the clock and forcing a punt.

The Seahawks then moved into position for Myers’ 34-yard field goal to tie the game.

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