Kenneth Walker III rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the visiting Denver Broncos 26-20 on Sunday.
Geno Smith passed for one touchdown and rushed for another as the Seahawks won Mike Macdonald’s debut as a head coach.
Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix, a first-round draft pick out of Oregon, completed 26 of 42 passes for 138 yards and two interceptions. Nix scored on a 4-yard run with 2:09 left to pull the Broncos within a touchdown, but the Seahawks were able to run out the clock.
The Seahawks rallied from a four-point halftime deficit, scoring on their first three possessions of the second half.
Walker tallied on a 23-yard run around the right end in the third quarter and Jason Myers booted a 28-yard field goal, giving the hosts a 19-13 lead.
Smith threw a 30-yard scoring strike to running back Zach Charbonnet on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 26-13.
Smith was 18-of-25 passing for 171 yards.
The Broncos led 13-9 after a sloppy first half.
Wil Lutz kicked three field goals, two after Seahawks turnovers, and the Broncos got two safeties, the first when Seattle was called for a penalty in its own end zone.
The lone touchdown of the half came on a 34-yard scramble by Smith that gave the Seahawks a 9-8 lead.
Smith was picked off on Seattle’s second play from scrimmage. Denver’s Alex Singleton returned the interception to Seattle’s 20-yard line, but the Broncos had to settle for Lutz’s 35-yard field goal.
The Seahawks tied it on Myers’ 50-yarder with 2:41 left in the quarter.
Seattle’s Julian Love then intercepted a pass from Nix at the 1-yard line. On the next play, Seahawks offensive lineman Anthony Bradford was called for holding in the end zone, the safety giving Denver a 5-3 lead.
The Broncos went three-and-out, but the Seahawks’ Dee Williams muffed the punt at his own 9-yard line and Denver’s JL Skinner recovered the ball. That led to a 30-yard field goal by Lutz to make it 8-3.
After Smith’s touchdown, the Broncos’ offense again went three-and-out. Riley Dixon’s punt sailed over Williams’ head and was downed at the 1-yard line.
Charbonnet was stopped by Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper before he could get out of the end zone on the next play, giving the Broncos a second safety and a 10-9 lead.
Lutz kicked a 45-yarder with 2 seconds left in the half.