What Went Wrong for the Defending Super Bowl Champions?
The Seattle Seahawks held the Denver Broncos to 168 yards of total offense. They sacked Bo Nix five times. They didn’t allow a single point in the second half. And they still lost.
That’s the brutal reality of Thursday night’s 17-14 overtime defeat at Empower Field at Mile High—a game that exposed every crack in a Seahawks team that looked like a juggernaut just eight months ago. Wil Lutz’s 53-yard field goal with 4:53 left in overtime sealed the win for Denver after Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted Sam Darnold’s pass at the Seahawks’ 43-yard line. But the seeds of this loss were planted long before that final, fatal throw.
The Turning Point: Two Interceptions, One Collapse
The Seahawks had fought back from a 14-3 deficit, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. George Holani’s one-yard touchdown run with 5:41 remaining, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Darnold to Rashid Shaheed, pulled Seattle within three. Then Jason Myers nailed a 34-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to tie it.
It was the kind of gritty comeback that championship teams are supposed to make. And then Darnold threw it all away.
His first interception, with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, was a pass intended for Rashid Shaheed that Kris Abrams-Draine picked off at the Denver 31-yard line. The Broncos went three-and-out, giving Seattle another chance—and they capitalized, driving into field goal range to force overtime.
But in the extra period, Darnold did it again. This time, McMillian stepped in front of a pass intended for Shaheed, setting up Denver’s game-winning kick.
“The defense did their best, but Denver was already basically in scoring range,” one post-game analysis noted bluntly. “You can’t lose the turnover battle and expect to win”.
The Offensive Line Was a Turnstile
Darnold’s interceptions were the headline, but the carnage started up front. The Seahawks’ offensive line was overwhelmed all night, surrendering five sacks and forcing Darnold to absorb 17 hits—a staggering number that explains much of his erratic play.
Darnold finished 27 of 51 for 278 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was under constant duress, and the run game was virtually nonexistent. The offensive line “basically sucked,” with Abe Lucas “beaten like a drum,” Charles Cross “getting toasted,” and Grey Zabel drawing penalties.
The numbers tell the story: Seattle ran 82 plays for 353 total yards, but they simply couldn’t move the ball efficiently when it mattered most.
The Defense Deserved Better
It’s hard to overstate how dominant Seattle’s defense was—and how thoroughly it was wasted.
The Seahawks held Denver to 168 total yards, the worst offensive output by any NFL team in a game this season. They held the Broncos scoreless in the second half. On Denver’s final nine drives, the Broncos managed just 22 plays for 15 total yards and two first downs.
Richard Sherman, the former Seahawks great turned analyst, didn’t hold back on the Prime Video postgame show: “If you’re the defense, you start to get frustrated. You start to say, ‘What else can you do?’… At some point, you expect them to get something done. Just not turn the ball over”.
The frustration is understandable. This is a defense that ranks second in the NFL in points allowed per game and first in yards allowed per play. It’s a unit good enough to win a Super Bowl—as it did last season. And it’s being squandered by an offense that keeps giving games away.
The Sam Darnold Problem
Darnold took ownership of the loss in his postgame comments, calling his turnovers “BS” and admitting they weren’t fair to the defense.
“It’s not fair to our defense,” he said. “It’s not fair to our special teams group”.
But accountability doesn’t fix the underlying issue. Darnold now has 27 turnovers since the start of the 2025 season, the most in the NFL. He has at least one turnover in every game he’s played this season. The Seahawks have committed 10 turnovers in their three losses, which have come by a combined eight points.
Head coach Mike Macdonald defended Darnold after the game, saying the team has “a lot of faith” in him and that he isn’t considering a quarterback change. But the calls for Darnold to be benched are growing louder, and it’s easy to see why.
A Super Bowl Hangover—or Something Worse?
Eight months ago, the Seahawks were lifting the Lombardi Trophy. Now they’re 3-3, already matching their loss total from last season. All three losses have come by three points or fewer. They’re 2.5 games behind the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West.
The turnover problems aren’t new. As one analysis put it, “the main issues of turnovers, penalties, and special teams gaffes have been consistent going all the way back to preseason ball”.
There’s also the coordinator question. First-time play-caller Brian Fleury replaced Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator this offseason, and Macdonald acknowledged this week that the pass game hasn’t “really clicked yet”. Whether the scheme is failing Darnold or Darnold is failing the scheme, the result is the same: an offense that can’t get out of its own way.
What’s Next
The Seahawks return home next week to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football—and waiting for them will be Kenneth Walker III, last year’s Super Bowl MVP, whom they lost in free agency.
The Chiefs are undefeated. The Seahawks are reeling. And the spotlight will be brighter than ever.
Macdonald told his team after the loss that they should feel two things at once: pride in their resolve, and frustration at what they let slip away. “There’s no moral victories in the league,” he said.
He’s right. The Seahawks played well enough to win on Thursday night. Their defense was magnificent. But football games aren’t won by the team that plays well for three quarters—they’re won by the team that doesn’t hand the ball to the other side when it matters most.
Right now, that team isn’t Seattle.
