New-look Seahawks under Mike Macdonald host revamped Broncos to open the season
Denver (8-9) at Seattle (9-8)
Sunday , 4:05 p.m. EDT, CBS
BETMGM NFL ODDS: Seahawks by 6.
Series record: Broncos lead 35-22
Last meeting: Seahawks beat Broncos 17-16 on Sept. 12, 2022, in Seattle.
Last season: Broncos 8-9; Seahawks 9-8
Broncos offense (2023): overall (26), rush (18), pass (24)
Broncos defense (2023): overall (29), rush (30), pass (22)
Seahawks offense (2023): overall (21), rush (28), pass (14)
Seahawks defense (2023) overall (29), rush (31), pass (21)
Turnover differential (2023): Broncos plus-4, Seahawks plus-2
Broncos player to watch
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix comes into his first NFL start with high expectations after being picked 12th overall by the Broncos in the 2024 draft. After a record 61 collegiate starts between Auburn and Oregon, Nix won the Broncos starting job over veterans Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham by leading the team to scores on six of his first seven preseason drives. Nix won a record seven Pac-12 Player of the Week awards in his tenure with the Ducks, set a new single-season NCAA record with a 77.45% completion rate in 2023, and put up the second-most career yards in NCAA history.
Seahawks player to watch
After bursting onto the scene with a Pro Bowl season in 2023 where he finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, second-year CB Devon Witherspoon is expected to thrive in the new-look defense under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald. Witherspoon has emerged as a leader on the defense this offseason, and has the head coach raving about his explosive abilities and on-field smarts. Witherspoon had 79 tackles in 2023 and eight tackles for loss, with three sacks, a pick-6 and 15 pass breakups.
Key matchup
Sean Payton’s offense vs. Mike Macdonald’s defense. Payton has a highly touted rookie in place at QB after his team put up a disappointing offensive performance last year in his first year in Denver. Macdonald gets his first chance to unleash his heralded defensive scheme on a regular-season opponent. Payton and Macdonald come in with big-time bona fides on their respective sides of the ball, and should make for a fun head-to-head matchup.
Key injuries
The Broncos have no players listed on their injury report headed into Week 1 … The Seahawks are expected to be without TE Pharoah Brown (foot) and LB Uchenna Nwosu (knee). Nwosu is expected to miss the first couple of weeks.
Series notes
Former AFC West rivals, the Seahawks have won three of the past four matchups, going back to their dominant 43-8 win over the Peyton Manning-led Broncos in the 2014 Super Bowl … The Broncos have not won in Seattle since a 31-8 win over the Seahawks on Nov. 17, 2002 … The Seahawks beat the Broncos 17-16 in their previous meeting on Sept. 12, 2022, which was Russell Wilson’s return to Seattle after being traded during the previous offseason … The teams have faced off 57 times, but this will be just their fifth matchup since 2010.
Stats and stuff
The Seahawks have finished 9-8 in each of the past two seasons. … The Broncos haven’t finished with a winning record since finishing 9-7 in 2016. … A Seattle win would mark the 19th win in its past 22 home openers since 2003. … The Seahawks and Broncos have faced each other four times in season openers going back to 1987, with each team winning two games. … The Seahawks open at home for the 10th time in the past 25 seasons. … WR DK Metcalf needs seven receptions to pass Darrell Jackson for the most in a player’s first six seasons in franchise history with 379. … WR Tyler Lockett needs 6 yards to become the second player in franchise history and 113th player in NFL history with 8,000 receiving yards. … Lockett needs four touchdowns to pass Marshawn Lynch for third on Seattle’s career touchdowns list with 67. … QB Geno Smith needs 454 yards to pass Rick Mirer for fifth on Seattle’s career passing yards list with 9,095, and needs 24 completions to pass Mirer for fifth place on Seattle’s career passing completions list with 815. … LB Boye Mafe had a career-high nine sacks in 2023, including a sack in seven straight games from Weeks 3-10 last season. … Nix is the first rookie Denver rookie QB to start in Week 1 since John Elway in 1983. … LB Alex Singleton ranked third in the NFL with a career-high 175 tackles last season. He had at least 10 tackles in seven of eight road games. … WR Courtland Sutton led Denver in catches (59), yards (772) and TDs (career-high 10) in 2023, becoming the first Broncos WR with at least 10 receiving touchdowns in a season since 2014. … Denver’s special teams unit averaged a club-record 16.3 yards per return last season, best in the NFL. … Payton needs one victory to tie former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren for the 19th-most regular-season wins among head coaches in league history. … Javonte Williams needs 119 rushing yards to reach 2,000 for his career. … Denver is 40-23-1 in season openers.
Fantasy tip
For all the attention Seattle has received for what it might look like throwing the ball under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, the Seahawks still have Kenneth Walker III in the backfield. He’ll be facing a Denver defense that was third worst at stopping the run last season, and Grubb wasn’t shy at leaning on his running backs as a college offensive coordinator, as evidenced by running back Dillon Johnson’s 1,195 rushing yards last season for Washington.
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