Broncos Fall 30-10 To Seahawks In Preseason Home Opener
In his first action at Mile High Stadium, Peyton Manning went 16-of-23 passing for 177 yards with one interception, leading to a 10-9 halftime lead. The second half however, saw the visiting Seattle Seahawks score three unanswered touchdowns en route to a 30-10 preseason win over the Denver Broncos.
After the offense's first series ended in a three-and-out, the Broncos’ second drive of the game started in prime position at the Seattle 24-yard line thanks to a blocked punt by safety David Bruton. Denver came away empty-handed, however, when Seattle’s K.J. Wright intercepted a pass that was tipped at the line. It was the first of three first-half turnovers that prevented a 210-103 yardage advantage from being reflected on the scoreboard.
“Of course you’re going to be concerned about turning it over,” McGahee said. “Regardless of if it’s running with the ball, fumbling or throwing interceptions, you’re going to be concerned. It’s things that you want to get back and work on come Monday morning.”
The story of Manning’s first touchdown drive, which started with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter, was the ground game, as the Broncos’ 11-play, 80 yard touchdown drive featured seven runs and four passes. McGahee got the drive going with back-to-back 7-yard runs. Later, he finished what he started, finding pay dirt on his third consecutive 1-yard gain from inside Seattle’s 5-yard line.
But it was Manning who picked up the bulk of the yardage on the drive, going 4-for-4 for 47 yards, with two completions to wide receiver Brandon Stokley and one apiece to running back Lance Ball and tight end Joel Dreessen. McGahee’s touchdown run up the gut gave Denver a 7-3 lead as time expired in the first quarter.
A pair of field goals by Seattle’s Steven Hauschka made it 9-7 with 2:44 remaining in the first half.
Taking over at the 20-yard line after a touchback, Manning quickly pushed the ball near midfield with three straight short completions, two to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and one to Ball. Following the two-minute warning, Manning found wide receiver Eric Decker for 19 yards, setting the Broncos up on Seattle’s 39-yard line. After an incompletion intended for Dreessen, Manning hooked up with Stokley for 22 yards to set Denver up inside the Seattle red zone at the 17-yard line.
A 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on center J.D. Walton and incompletions intended for tight end Jacob Tamme and Decker forced the drive to stall at the 15-yard line, where Prater knocked home a 32-yarder that gave Denver a 10-9 lead at the break.
Seattle’s first drive with backup quarterback Russell Wilson under center ended in the first touchdown given up by the Broncos defense this preseason. It was one of three touchdown drives led by Wilson, who finished the game 10-for-17 for 155 yards, including two touchdowns. Wilson also picked up 33 yards rushing on five carries as he helped Seattle’s offense roll up 302 second-half yards after it gained only 103 before halftime.
After taking a 16-10 lead on the first drive of the third quarter, Seattle extended its lead to 23-10 on a 34-yard touchdown reception by Tyrell Sutton. The last score of the evening came on an 8-yard touchdown completion from Wilson to Seahawks tight end Cooper Helfet.
Meanwhile, Denver’s offense sputtered in the second half. Rookie quarterback Brock Osweiler completed 5 of 11 passes for 38 yards and was sacked once for a loss of six yards. The rest of the offense also had a hard time getting anything going, as five runs netted just five yards.
Tickets are available for the Broncos’ next preseason home game at Sports Authority Field vs. the San Francisco 49ers on August 26th, and can be purchased by calling (720) 258-3333, or by clicking here.
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