NFL Recap | October 15, 2026
Week 6 opened at Mile High with the kind of Thursday night game the total was built for. Seattle outgained Denver by 185 yards, held the ball for more than 35 minutes, and still went home with a loss, because three turnovers and a kick off the upright will do that. Denver's defense picked Sam Darnold off twice in the final five minutes of play, and Wil Lutz ended it from 53 yards with 4:53 left in overtime. Here's how it went, and how the card graded.
Lutz From 53 Ends It After Seattle Erases an 11-Point Hole
Denver Broncos 17, Seattle Seahawks 14 (OT)
The first quarter was a punt-off until Jason Myers drilled a 55-yarder at 6:31 for a 3-0 Seattle lead. Then Denver put together the drive of the night: 16 plays, 74 yards, 8:39 off the clock, finished by J.K. Dobbins from four yards out at 12:52 of the second for a 7-3 lead. Seattle managed 11 yards on its next six plays and punted, and Bo Nix went 79 yards in nine plays, helped by a 20-yard pass interference call on Devon Witherspoon, before RJ Harvey took a direct snap in from the 1 at 5:15. That made it 14-3. Rashid Shaheed fumbled on the next Seattle possession at 2:34, Justin Strnad recovered at the Denver 34, and the half ended 14-3.
The third quarter was scoreless and expensive for Seattle. Darnold drove 55 yards to the Denver 29, took a sack from Jonah Elliss on third down, and watched Myers clang a 47-yarder off the right upright at 8:34. Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto split a 14-yard sack at 4:05 to kill the next drive. Seattle finally broke through at 5:41 of the fourth, an 11-play, 67-yard march that ended with George Holani from the 1 and a Darnold-to-Shaheed two-point pass, 14-11. Denver went backwards on its next drive, Ernest Jones IV and Nick Emmanwori each sacked Nix, and the Seahawks got it back with 3:24 left. Kris Abrams-Draine picked Darnold off at the Denver 31 at 1:31, but Seattle burned all three timeouts, forced a punt, and Shaheed returned it 31 yards to the Seattle 46 with 57 seconds left. Darnold found Cooper Kupp for 17 and Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 7, and Myers tied it from 34 with three seconds on the clock.
Overtime lasted five minutes and five seconds. Shaheed muffed the kickoff, recovered it, and a holding penalty started Seattle at its own 13. On third-and-7 at the 28, Ja'Quan McMillian jumped a Darnold pass meant for Shaheed at 7:17, Seattle's third turnover of the night. Denver got eight yards on four plays, enough for Lutz to send a 53-yarder through at 4:53. Darnold finished 27-of-51 for 278 yards with two interceptions and five sacks, his second straight game taking five. Smith-Njigba caught 12 of 16 targets for 134 yards. Nix was 17-of-27 for 107 yards, and Denver finished with 168 total yards to Seattle's 353. Alex Singleton made 13 tackles. Denver goes to 4-2 and 3-0 at home. Seattle falls to 3-3.
THE CARD, GRADED · SEA @ DEN
Side · Lean SEA -2.5 (Toss-up) · final margin SEA -3, six short of the number · missed
Total · Under 40.5 (Lean) · closing number 40.5 · final total 31, 9.5 under the number · cleared
The lean was driven by the injury report. Smith-Njigba did exactly what the card expected against a thin secondary, but the side needed Darnold to keep the ball safe against pressure, and he didn't. The under was the easier read all week: the total had already dropped two points, the forecast called for rain and wind, and Denver's offense did its part by barely moving.
THE RECORD · NFL REGULAR SEASON
Side 35-42-3 · 45% of 77 · Total 46-34 · 58% of 80 · through Week 6 Thursday
This slate: side 0-1, total 1-0 (2 leans).
Every card is graded against the closing number. The full ledger, by tier and by week, is on The Record.
What's Next
Week 6 picks back up Sunday with the full slate, and the preview lands before the early window with the three most prominent games free and the rest on Tome Intel. The early number is still built on a short season, so expect more Toss-ups than Strongs for another week or two.
Tome Collective is an informational publication.