The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks have a defensive battle to start the game and end the first quarter tied 3-3.
To open up the game, the Denver Broncos won the opening coin toss against the Seattle Seahawks and chose to defer possession to the second half. With a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start, this is a good choice. Let him get the jitters out in the first half.
The game couldn’t have started out better for the Broncos defense. Jonathon Cooper sacked Geno Smith on first down and on second down he is hit as he threw where Alex Singleton intercepts the ball to set Denver up with a red zone possession.
#Broncos pressure leads to an Alex Singleton INTERCEPTION pic.twitter.com/cSHxMFviQK
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) September 8, 2024
Javonte Williams took the first down handoff nine yards up the middle to the Seattle 11 yard line, then had an opening on the backside on second down but slipped for a one yard loss. On third and two, rookie Bo Nix was flushed outside and threw an incomplete pass to bring out the field goal unit.
Broncos 3, Seahawks 0.
The Broncos defense shut things down handily on the Seahawks next drive, forcing them to punt it away after a quick three and out. Bo Nix’s first drive from his own territory ends in a quick three and out as well. Nix was 3/3 on passing, but gained just five yards.
Inside pressure from the Broncos revamped interior defensive line was making the difference early in this game. They forced a second straight three-and-out midway through the first quarter and they just looked dominant up front early.
Denver opened up the third drive with back-to-back runs by Williams and then Jaleel McLaughlin to set up a third and four. Nix hit a wide open Lil’Jordan Humphrey over the middle who dropped the pass to force yet another three-and-out from these teams.
The Seahawks finally get the game’s first first down of the game on their next drive and that helped them gain some momentum. A bad penalty for roughing the passer by Nik Bonitto put Seattle on the fringe of field goal range. Ja’Quan McMillian flew in for a tackle for no gain and after a three yard gain on second down the Seahawks faced a third and seven. Bonitto redeemed himself there with a free rush to force the field goal that would tie things up.
Broncos 3, Seahawks 3.
Two quick completions by Nix on Denver’s next drive setup a third and three. Nix rolled out on third down and scrambled and a terrible spot brought up a fourth down. Sean Payton wasted no time to challenge the call and the call was overturned. Everyone on the planet could see the spot was horrendous.
The quarter ends with at least each team gaining a first down. That’s something.