Sam Darnold's Overtime Interception Hands Denver a 17-14 Win: Fantasy Fallout From Seahawks-Broncos

The Denver Broncos beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 in overtime on Thursday night at Empower Field, and the deciding sequence was brutal for Seattle. On the first possession of overtime, facing third-and-7 from his own 28, Sam Darnold threw toward Rashid Shaheed down the sideline and cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian ranged over for the interception. Denver took over at the Seattle 43, and three plays later Wil Lutz hit a 53-yard field goal to end it.

Denver moves to 4-2. Seattle, the defending Super Bowl champion, falls to 3-3 and sits 2.5 games behind the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West. For fantasy managers, the game delivered one elite stat line (Jaxon Smith-Njigba), one backfield about to change shape (Denver), and one more data point on a Seattle offense that keeps turning the ball over.

How the Game Unfolded

Denver controlled the first half and led 14-3 at the break. J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey each ran in a touchdown, and Courtland Sutton drew a pass interference penalty that set up one of those scores. Seattle managed only a first-quarter field goal before halftime, and Darnold was sacked twice in the opening two quarters alone.

Then the Broncos' offense disappeared. Denver did not score again in regulation, and Seattle chipped back. George Holani capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, and Darnold's tipped two-point throw to Shaheed cut the deficit to 14-11 with 5:41 remaining. Jason Myers then tied it with a 34-yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation.

Overtime lasted one Seattle possession and three Denver snaps. Darnold took responsibility for the loss after the game, acknowledging that he tried to do too much on the decisive throw. It was his second interception of the night; Kris Abrams-Draine had the other.

The Box Score That Matters for Fantasy

Denver won with just 168 total yards of offense. The defense did the rest: five sacks, 17 quarterback hits, two interceptions and a forced fumble from Nik Bonitto, who also added half a sack and generated seven pressures. All of that came without cornerback Pat Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga, who were both ruled out before kickoff.

Fantasy Fallout: Seattle

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is matchup-proof. He was quiet in the first half against Denver's patched secondary, then the offense ran through him after the break. The 12-catch, 134-yard night was his fifth 100-yard game of the season, and he did it after carrying a questionable tag with an ankle issue into the week. He is a locked-in WR1 regardless of how Darnold is playing, and the 51 pass attempts show how pass-heavy Seattle becomes when it trails.

Sam Darnold is a volume QB2 with turnover risk. He threw for 278 yards but no touchdowns, and the turnover problem is now a pattern: he entered the night with five interceptions over his previous three games and added two more. In 1-QB leagues he belongs on benches until he strings together clean games. In superflex formats the attempts keep him startable, but the floor is low against good pass rushes.

Rashid Shaheed is a deep-league flex, not a priority add. Five catches for 66 yards was his best output of the season, and he was Darnold's target on the overtime throw, but his snap rate dipped. Treat the line as a one-game bump, not a role change.

The Seattle backfield is a hold-your-nose situation. With Zach Charbonnet out again with a knee injury, Seattle used a three-man rotation of Emanuel Wilson, Holani and Velus Jones Jr., and Jones mostly cut into Holani's work. Holani scored the touchdown, but nobody in this group has a reliable weekly role. Wilson remains the only one worth rostering in 12-team leagues, and only as a bye-week fill-in until Charbonnet returns.

Tight end Elijah Arroyo left late in the first half with a right shoulder injury suffered while diving for a loose ball and was listed as doubtful to return. Watch next week's practice reports before trusting him in Week 7.

Fantasy Fallout: Denver

Bo Nix is a bench option. Seventeen completions for 107 yards against a Seattle defense is a floor game for anyone, and Denver's offense has now gone stretches without moving the ball. He is a streamer only in the right matchup, and the trip to Arizona in Week 7 is worth monitoring rather than assuming.

The backfield is about to get crowded. Dobbins led the group with 17 carries but averaged under three yards per rush. Harvey scored and led the team in receiving yards, but saw only six carries. Third back Tyler Badie suffered a left thumb injury converting a fourth down on the opening scoring drive and did not return after one carry for six yards. The bigger news is rookie Jonah Coleman, who went on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 2 against Jacksonville. He is eligible to return for Week 7, and multiple outlets report Denver expects him back for the Arizona game. Hold Dobbins and Harvey, but downgrade both to flex range, and pick up Coleman now if he is sitting on waivers in your league.

Jaylen Waddle is a sell. Four catches for 24 yards on seven targets is what a 107-yard passing night produces. The talent is not in question, but the quarterback play caps his weekly ceiling. If someone in your league still values him as a WR2, move him.

Courtland Sutton made his biggest impact by drawing a penalty rather than catching passes. He stays a WR3 with a touchdown-dependent floor in this offense.

Broncos D/ST should stay in lineups. A unit that produced five sacks and two interceptions while missing its best cornerback is a weekly starter.

What It Means for the Standings and the Market

Denver's 4-2 record keeps it in the AFC playoff mix, but the profile is fragile: a defense-first team that won a game in which it was outgained and held scoreless for the entire second half. That is the kind of result markets tend to price as noise rather than signal.

Seattle's problem is bigger. At 3-3 and 2.5 games back of the unbeaten 49ers, the champions are no longer the favorite in their own division, and their turnover issues have now cost them two straight close games after a 32-29 loss to San Francisco. Outside calls for a quarterback change grew louder overnight, but there is no reporting that the team is weighing one.

For Verdexed users, the Thursday result is a reminder to price Seattle's offense by its giveaways, not its yardage. The full model card for every Week 7 game will live at /nfl/predictions, and the Week 6 slate breakdown is at /blog/nfl-week-6-picks-2026.

What's Next

Denver visits the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 4:05 p.m. ET, its third road game in a four-week span. The key fantasy watch is whether Coleman is activated from injured reserve and how Denver divides carries among Coleman, Dobbins and Harvey. Badie's thumb and the secondary's health (Surtain and Hufanga) are the other storylines.

Seattle gets an extra-long week before hosting the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football on Oct. 25 at 8:20 p.m. ET at Lumen Field, the first of three straight primetime games. Watch Charbonnet's practice status, Arroyo's shoulder and whether Seattle trims its three-back rotation.

The actionable takeaway: start Smith-Njigba every week, bench Nix and Darnold in 1-QB formats, sell Waddle if you can get WR2 value, and grab Coleman before Denver's Week 7 activation window opens.