Can you believe the Denver Broncos just squeaked out a 17-14 win over our Seahawks? It happened, and it’s frustrating. These Broncos, along with the Minnesota Vikings, are out there proving that sometimes it’s really better to be lucky than good in the NFL. It feels like they are finding ways to win games that most teams just shouldn’t, especially when you look at the numbers.
The Broncos Are Still Winning Ugly, And It Just Cost Our Hawks
Listen, these Denver Broncos are running the same playbook they had last year: win one-score games. They did it 11 times last season, all by eight points or fewer. Guess what? This year, they’ve won every single game by that same tight margin. It’s wild! Their offense is straight-up struggling, putting up less than 20 points per game and dead last in the league with only 4.4 yards per play. So how are they pulling this off, even against our Emerald City squad?
It comes down to their defense. These guys are legit, holding opponents to the ninth-fewest points per game at 20.8 and ranking third in EPA/Pass. Their defense is absolutely carrying the load because quarterback Bo Nix, frankly, has not looked like himself. He was injured in the playoffs last year and missed the rest of the postseason, and his numbers this year aren’t great. In that tough game against Seattle, the Broncos’ offense struggled big time, but their defense stepped up, forcing Sam Darnold to throw two huge interceptions. And get this for a stat: Bo Nix ranks 701st out of 701 quarterbacks in average pass length over the past 20 years, with just 4.9 air yards per attempt in 2026. How do you win with that?
The Vikings Are Undefeated Pretenders Because of Their Defense
The Minnesota Vikings are pulling a similar stunt. They’re undefeated, which is insane considering their offense can’t control the ball and ranks 28th in the league per EPA/Play. You have to give defensive coordinator Brian Flores his credit. He deserves more recognition than he’s getting because his defense is the real deal, ranked number one in the NFL in EPA/Play. That’s why they are winning!
Their offense, though, is a puzzle. Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones are their only real standout offensive weapons. Jones is getting a ton of carries, but his numbers aren’t exploding like you’d expect with that volume. He ranks just 22nd in EPA/Rush, meaning he’s only marginally boosting their scoring chances. If the Vikings want to be taken seriously as contenders, their offense absolutely has to get a major boost. Otherwise, they’re just going to keep falling into that “pretender” category, no matter how many lucky wins they stack up.
The fact that teams can look this bad offensively and still stack wins shows you how unpredictable this league is. For our Hawks, losing a nail-biter to a team whose QB ranks 701st in anything? That’s a tough pill to swallow, but it also shows we were right there despite their defense making plays. We just have to make sure we’re the ones making those game-winning plays next time.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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