The Seattle Seahawks made NFL history Thursday night, setting a record for the fewest yards allowed in an overtime loss in NFL history in their brutal 17-14 defeat to the Denver Broncos. Yeah, you heard that right. While our defense bent, but mostly didn’t break, keeping us within striking distance, Sam Darnold and the offense simply couldn’t string together any scoring drives, allowing their former AFC West rivals to write themselves into the record books. The Broncos clinched that overtime win with a paltry 168 total yards of offense, breaking a 22-year-old record for the lowest yardage total in an overtime victory. That means we’re now on the wrong side of history, surpassing the 2004 Chicago Bears who lost with 176 yards allowed in a Week 9 game against the Titans. It’s tough to swallow, especially when the defense showed up big.
Broncos Defense Made All the Difference
Look, this wasn’t just any low-scoring OT game. This is the second time this season a struggling offense has managed an overtime win like this, with the Green Bay Packers pulling off a Week 2 comeback against the Jets with just 199 total yards, the 5th lowest all time. But unlike that Packers game, which was played in rough rain and wind, the weather wasn’t the issue last night. This was all about Denver’s defense, who absolutely went off against the defending Super Bowl champions. They racked up five sacks, hauled in two interceptions, and forced two fumbles, recovering one of them. Their quarterback, Bo Nix, averaged a truly unfathomable 0.6 air yards per completion. Think about that for a second: they barely threw the ball forward, and still won.
Offense Stalls Out When It Matters Most
We actually struck first, getting a field goal at 8:29 in the opening frame. But then, back-to-back second-quarter touchdowns from Broncos running backs J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey put Denver up 14-3. Our wide receiver, Rashid Shaheed, fumbled on the ensuing drive, leading to a turnover. Even though our defense forced a punt to give Darnold and the boys another shot before halftime, nothing came of it. Our defense absolutely turned a corner in the second half, forcing punts on all of Denver’s possessions. But what did our offense do? Continued the inconsistency. Jason Myers missed a 47-yard field goal to open the third quarter, followed by two consecutive punts. This let Nix and the Broncos control the clock, which they did. Even with only two trips to the red zone all night, Darnold’s costly interception in overtime sealed our fate, setting up Will Lutz’s game-winning field goal. They say defense wins championships, and if last night was any indication, it absolutely does. Now if only the offense could get on the same page.
We just witnessed our defense play their hearts out, making an NFL record for fewest yards allowed in an overtime loss, and it was all wasted. We need Sam Darnold and this offense to find some consistency, like, yesterday. We know what our defense is capable of, but they can’t do it all themselves. The season is still young, but we need to see this offense click if we want to turn these close games into Ws instead of heartbreaking history lessons.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Field Gulls.
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