SEATTLE — A shaky Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense generated 0 points with all but 19 seconds left in the first half.
Yet, visiting Denver was leading the Seattle Seahawks at that point, 10-9.
How’s that?
First, the Seahawks’ offense was more inept than the Broncos’ offense, taking nothing away from the impressive effort by Vance Joseph’s Denver defense.
As for the math, an Alex Singleton interception return to the Seattle 20 set up the Broncos’ first short field goal by Wil Lutz, a recovery of a Seahawks’ muffed punt by special teamer JL Skinner at the Seattle 9 set up another short field goal by Lutz, and the Denver defense came up with not one, but two safeties for 4 points.
Nix and the Broncos’ offense deserved none of the credit for that 10-9 lead.
Those missed opportunities to score touchdowns proved costly by game's end. Seattle rebounded in the second half by turning to running back Kenneth Walker, who scored one touchdown and had another called back by penalty. A Geno Smith 30-yard touchdown pass to backup running back Zach Charbonnet had the Seahawks defeating the Broncos, 26-20 in the season opener played on a hazy-turned-sunny Sunday afternoon before a raucous crowd of 68,741 at Lumen Field.
“Gotta score in the red zone,'' said Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey. "And it has to be touchdowns. That’s just the way this league works. We have to be good in situational football and we weren’t able to punch it in when we had the opportunity today. We’ve got a lot to improve on. Excited for where we’re going to go. But you can’t make the kind of mistakes we did today.”
Down, 26-13 with 4:28 remaining in the game, Nix snapped out of his rough day by coming through with a 54-yard touchdown drive. He completed 4 of 5 passes on the hurry up series, plus had runs of 23 yards that started the possession and 4 yards for a touchdown to cap it. That brought the Broncos to within, 26-20 with 2:09 left.
“It was a challenge,'' Nix said. "It was a tough day. They didn’t make it easy on us that’s for sure. But like I say we competed. We gotta score there at the end and gave ourselves a chance to win.’’
With 1:54 left and Seattle facing a third and 11, Denver outside linebacker Baron Browning jumped offside to make it third-and-6. Smith then hit Tyler Lockett, who made a terrific catch for the first down to ice it.
Nix, frankly, seemed off his game for most of the first three quarters-plus, before calmly coming through with a touchdown drive late. He finished 26 of 42 but for only 138 yards with two interceptions.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton, however, seemed encouraged by his rookie quarterback's performance, if disappointed by other aspects of his offense.
“We’ll watch the tape but he gave us a chance,'' Payton said. "I mean our protection was average at best. At one point in the game I came to the bench and talked to the receivers and said, ‘Let’s go.’ I don’t know how many drops we had but, man, let’s help this guy.”
Said McGlinchey: “I think Bo did a great job today. I think he handled himself well. It’s a real difficult place to make your first NFL start especially at the quarterback position. I think he handled himself with poise. I think he commanded the huddle well. I think he’s competitive as all hell, lays his body out there for us and, yeah, really pleased with where he’s going and I know he’s going to take a look at this and improve as much as anybody else on the team.''
No doubt, Payton was conservative in his play-calling in the first half. But with Nix misfiring on so many throws past the line of scrimmage, perhaps Payton was also calling a smart game.
Finally on third-and-9 from near midfield with 19 seconds left in the half, Nix threw a nice back-shoulder pass down the left sideline to Josh Reynolds, who beat man coverage for a 25-yard completion. That got Lutz close enough for a 45-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the half and the Broncos were up 13-9 at the intermission.
Nix was 12 of 22 for 67 yards with an interception at halftime.
“It’s tough man. You always want to come out, especially with a rookie quarterback and be able to get that first win and his confidence up,'' Reynolds said. "We wanted to do that today and we’ll come back and clean it up.”
The Broncos were not the same team in the second half as the Seahawks turned to Walker, whose running opened up the passing game for Smith. Walker had 19 yards rushing at halftime. He had 100 yards after the third quarter.
Smith had just 59 yards passing at halftime. He had 162 passing yards one play into the fourth quarter when the Seahawks went up by 13 points.
“It was a tale of two halves,'' said Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who had two sacks in the first half. "Even though I liked how we started off when it comes to that second half it’s a whole new game of football. We’ve got to bring the same energy, same juice we started off with and figure out how to come together so it doesn’t happen again.”
The best play of the first quarter was the 21-yard interception return by Singleton, the Broncos’ superb inside linebacker. It was the game’s second play. Seattle’s offense behind college-hired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was woefully dysfunctional early against the Joseph-coordinated Denver defense. Smith was sacked by Cooper on the game’s first play, then was hit by defense tackle D.J. Jones as he threw a floater down the middle.
Singleton, playing a deep zone, intercepted and brought the ball back to the Seattle 20. A nice place for Nix to start his first NFL series. Javonte Williams rushed for 9 yards to set up second and 1 at the 11, but then Williams slipped on the next play for a loss and the Broncos wound up settling for a 35-yard field goal by Lutz.
Seattle tied it on a 50-yard field goal by Jacob Myers. It was 3-3 after the first quarter.
The Broncos got it going to start the second quarter with an explosive run by rookie Audric Estime – who had a 17-yard gain, but fumbled the ball backward while trying to hurdle a tackler. Broncos’ tight end Adam Trautman recovered. It became third and 9 and the Seahawks’ 21 when Nix threw it toward the goal line and receiver Courtland Sutton. But Seattle safety Julian Love ranged over to intercept at the 1.
“Yeah that was a bad decision,'' Nix said. "Had points. We got the ball at the 1 and we got a safety so our defense bailed us out.''
Indeed, Grubb called for Smith to roll left from his end zone. Seattle was flagged for holding D.J. Jones in the end zone and the Broncos were rewarded with a safety.
With 11:22 left in the first half, the Broncos were up, 5-3.
It became 8-3 when Seattle’s Dee Williams had a Riley Dixon bounce off his helmet. Williams the batted the ball around while trying to pick up the loose ball, but the Skinner recovered at the Seattle 9.
A great chance, but a jittery Nix was flagged for a false start, then came two consecutive runs calls then came a slant pattern to Sutton in the end zone that was badly underthrown. Lutz kicked a short field goal. So the Broncos had two takeaways that set up the Broncos’ offense at the Seattle 20 and Seattle 9 and the Broncos got just six points each time.
Nix didn't see those missed point opportunities in the first half as the difference.
“No we were strong going in at halftime and we had a chance at the end,'' Nix said.
Smith finally scored on a 34-yard scramble up the middle to give Seattle a 9-8 lead. But then Denver’s Tremon Smith dowed a Dixon punt at the 1 – flipping the ball back to Skinner, who stopped at the 1. On the next play, Denver defensive end Zach Allen stuffed Charbonnet at the goal line for the safety.
The defense and special teams did their part in putting points on the board for Denver. But the offense wasn't there until its final possession.
"Overall as poorly as we did I think we gave ourselves a chance to win at the end,'' Nix said. "Our special teams and defense played incredible. They really kept us in the game, gave us hope. We battled.
"I think overall you like the compete of our team you like the look of we never quit. We battled. It could have got out of hand but it didn’t and we were a possession away from having a chance essentially. Obviously, not the original results you want but I feel like we’re going to have a confident group and going to bounce back from it and continue to compete.”
The Broncos play their first home game next Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Empower Field at Mile High. Former Broncos' quarterback Russell Wilson didn't play in the Steeler's season opener Sunday because of a calf strain so it remains to be seen whether he will play in Denver next week.
PHOTOS | Broncos at Seahawks
Keep practicing rooks
The Broncos’ inactive list included four rookies – fourth-round receiver Troy Franklin, fifth-round cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, undrafted offensive tackle Frank Crum and undrafted running back Blake Watson.
Defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike, tight end Lucas Krull and No. 3 quarterback Zach Wilson were also inactive. Wilson was designated as the emergency quarterback and was dressed in full uniform on the sideline.
Franklin was essentially replaced on the game-day roster by receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who was called up from the practice squad.
Pay Day
Game 1 of the regular season is huge for veteran players as their base salaries become fully guaranteed, per the collective bargaining agreement. The biggest beneficiary among Broncos players was left tackle Garett Bolles, whose $16 million salary went for $0 guaranteed to all $16 million guaranteed on Sunday.
Behind him was defensive tackle D.J. Jones, who went from $0 guaranteed to $9.49 million guaranteed. Other vets who had salary guarantees kick in were No. 2 quarterback Jarrett Stidham, inside linebacker Alex Singleton, special teams player Tremon Smith, punter Riley Dixon, receiver Courtland Sutton, defensive lineman Malcolm Roach and cornerback Levi Wallace.
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