Marshawn Lynch (24) scored the game-winning touchdown in Seattle's win over Denver. (
SEATTLE – After Peyton Manning led the Denver Broncos on a touchdown drive in the final minute of regulation, Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch returned the favor in overtime.
Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks on an 80-yard drive on the first possession of the extra period, finishing with a 6-yard touchdown run by Lynch to give the Seahawks a 26-20 win.
The game was much closer than the last time the two teams met in the Super Bowl, but the Seahawks showed they still have Denver’s number, despite a big fourth-quarter Broncos rally.
After an interception with just over two minutes to go in regulation seemed to end the Broncos’ comeback hopes, Manning led Denver 80 yards in less than a minute, first with a 41-yard strike to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and then hit reserve tight end Jacob Tamme down the left sideline for a 26-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left. Manning found Demaryius Thomas deep in the end zone for the two-point conversion, sending the game to overtime tied at 20.
Seattle had a 17-3 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Seahawks’ miscues gave the Broncos a chance to rally. Denver started the rally with a safety, and then an interception by cornerback Chris Harris Jr. led to a 3-yard shovel pass from Manning to tight end Julius Thomas with 9:20 left, cutting Seattle’s lead to 17-12.
Denver got the ball again with six minutes to play and drove to Seattle’s 24 yard line before safety Kam Chancellor picked off Manning and returned it 52 yards, leading to Steven Hauschka’s 28-yard field goal with 59 seconds remaining that gave Seattle a 20-12 lead, leading to Manning’s late heroics.
Wilson was 24 of 34 for 258 yards and rushed for another 40, including two big third-down scrambles on the overtime drive to move the chains. Lynch rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
Manning finished with 303 yards on 31 of 49 passing, and Sanders caught 11 passes for 149 yards.
The Seahawks scored a pair of touchdowns in the final minutes of the first half to go up 17-3.
The first came on a 39 yard pass from Wilson to Ricardo Lockette, who beat cornerback Aqib Talib down the right sideline to haul in the bomb with 3:05 left in the half. It was the second big play of the drive for Lockette, who earlier prevented a Talib interception with an offensive pass interference.
After a Broncos three-and-out, Seattle put together another drive, going 68 yards in just over two minutes, capped by Wilson’s five-yard touchdown pass to Lynch with 12 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Broncos had a rough start, with Montee Ball fumbling on Denver’s first play. The turnover gave the Seahawks the ball at the Broncos’ 23. Seattle pushed the ball down to the 1-yard line, but only came away with a 20-yard field goal by Hauschka.
Denver tied the game at 3 on the next drive, coming away with a 24-yard Brandon McManus field goal after driving 75 yards in 15 plays.
That was the last time the Broncos would make it into the red zone until the fourth quarter, as Seattle’s defense shut down Denver’s run game and held Manning in check until the Broncos’ late rally.
NOTES: QB Russell Wilson caught his first career pass in the first quarter, a 17-yard pass from WR Jermaine Kearse that led to the Seahawks’ first field goal. … Broncos TE Virgil Green left the game in the second quarter with a concussion. … The crowd of 68,447 was a regular-season record at CenturyLink Field.
