Why Seahawks-Broncos could be early Game of the Year candidate

Thursday night's matchup featuring the Seattle Seahawks at the Denver Broncos has everything a great game needs before a single snap: plenty of grudges, two desperate 3-2 teams and arguably the best-looking uniforms of the season.

Here's why the Seahawks-Broncos clash could be the game we're still talking about in January.

Bad blood and cheating accusations

This isn't manufactured TNF hype. After Seattle beat Denver 26-20 in 2024 (in the first game Denver had Bo Nix under center), Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald admitted the Seahawks used social media clips of Broncos practices to preview Denver's plays. Broncos head coach Sean Payton accused Seattle of cheating and threatened to report them to the league office.

A truce came when Macdonald apologized for it going public and Payton called it water under the bridge. Thursday is the first time they've faced each other since this all unfolded.

With Payton, though, does anyone believe it's really water under the bridge? Payton doesn't forget, and he gets the Seahawks at home in primetime with a defense built to be a game-changer.

Also, let’s not forget a couple of moments between the franchises that have defined their direction over the past decade. Seattle ran roughshod over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, then, eight years later, traded the architect of that win, Russell Wilson, to Denver for a haul of draft picks and talent.

That move backfired in every way for the Broncos while those draft picks formed a foundation for Seattle to return to the Super Bowl in February.

Ask any Broncos fan about that trade or Super Bowl XLVIII and they will snarl, setting up what will be a raucous environment for Thursday’s game between old AFC West rivals.

Seahawks-Broncos could be a battle of defenses

With running back Zach Charbonnet (knee) not expected to play Thursday, the Seahawks will rely on backups Emanuel Wilson and George Holani, a duo that coughed up two fumbles that turned directly into 14 San Francisco 49ers points in Sunday's 32-29 loss. Now they face a ball-hawking Denver defense that is well on pace to blow past the number of turnovers they forced last season.

Then there's the quarterbacks. Sam Darnold is back from injury and piling up yards … and interceptions, with five already. Nix has scuffled all season and has four turnovers, causing his coach to publicly defend him as the TNF spotlight prepares to shine on the Mile High City.

On a short week, this game will feature two quarterbacks who can't stop giving the ball away as well as two defenses that feast on turnovers. Something is going to give, likely multiple times.

The stakes are bigger than just NFL Week 6

The loser of this game falls to 3-3 in a division where the leaders (San Francisco in the NFC West and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West) are undefeated.

There's also a ghost hanging over this one: Denver finished as the AFC runner-up last season. The team waiting in the Super Bowl? Seattle. This is the closest thing to that game anyone is getting.

Both teams are wearing throwbacks, and NFL uniform geeks are already calling it the best matchup of the season. Denver is 5-0 in their throwbacks since bringing them back, while Seattle wore their throwbacks when they defeated the Broncos in 2024.

On Monday night, FanDuel listed Seattle as a three-point favorite with a 41.5 over-under total, which tells you what the oddsmakers expect: a low-scoring, defensive battle worthy of the TNF showcase.