Seahawks-Broncos Final Score: Seahawks begin 2019 NFL preseason with 22-14 win over Denver

The Seattle Seahawks went winless in the 2018 NFL preseason, but that won’t be the case in 2019, as they took care of the Denver Broncos by a score of 22-14 on a pleasant Thursday night at CenturyLink Field. Paxton Lynch rushed and threw for a touchdown in a surprisingly good performance against his former team, while the defense held Denver out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter.

Denver’s first-team offense, led by veteran QB Joe Flacco, mostly used the running game to march on Seattle’s defense, which had an overwhelming number of second- and third-string guys. The Seahawks did hold them to a field goal down in the red zone. Flacco would be replaced by Kevin Hogan for the next series, and Hogan’s first drive ended in a failed 4th and 2 pass thanks to an impressive break-up by Austin Calitro.

Geno Smith got the start for the Seahawks, and his opening series saw Rashaad Penny make the most out of a 27-yard screen pass, while DK Metcalf drew a holding penalty and caught an 8-yard pass against the great Chris Harris Jr. Unfortunately, Jason Myers’ field goal from 56 yards out went wide right. Seattle went three-and-out on the ensuing possession after Denver’s failed 4th down conversion.

Seattle put points on the board just before halftime with a 55-yard Myers field goal. It could’ve been 7 if DK Metcalf was able to snag that deep ball from Smith near the goal line, but he couldn’t quite bring it in. Smith finished the game just 3/9 for 58 yards and 21 yards rushing, while Metcalf had just that one catch on three targets, and another catch nullified by a David Moore penalty.

Paxton Lynch came in for the entire 2nd half and had the offense moving more effectively. A 21-yard throw to Jazz Ferguson helped set up a field goal, while a back-shoulder throw on 3rd down was reeled in by the UDFA for the game’s first touchdown.

Seattle extended its lead to 15-6 on an end zone sack by DeShawn Shead on rookie QB Drew Lock.

Lynch engineered a 69-yard drive and scrambled for a touchdown run to extend the advantage early in the 4th quarter.

The Broncos closed the gap to 22-14 on a Drew Lock TD to Devontae Jackson, followed by a two-point conversion to Juwann Winfree. Marquise Blair got himself in trouble with a personal foul penalty for hitting a defenseless receiver on that drive.

Denver had a chance to force overtime, which nobody wanted, but Akeem King’s blitz forced Drew Lock into a hurried throw that was intercepted by Jamar Taylor. For all intents and purposes, that sealed the deal.

Injury report

T George Fant injured his ankle in the 2nd quarter and did not return.

RB Bo Scarbrough injured his hand in the 3rd quarter and did not return.

Next week’s opponent

The Seahawks go on the road for a nationally televised game at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, August 18th at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT on FOX.