Thursday Night Football brings a matchup of two teams that expected much more from this season. The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks travel to Empower Field at Mile High to face the Denver Broncos on Thursday, Oct. 15, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video. Our Seahawks vs Broncos preview breaks down the odds, the storylines, and how to watch.

Both teams sit at 3-2, and the loser falls to 3-3 — not where either expected to be at this point. As the Arizona Republic noted, this is a pivotal game for two franchises that played in their respective conference championship games just last season. Seattle enters as a 2.5-point road favorite, but nothing about this matchup looks easy.

Seahawks vs Broncos: Time, TV and Odds

• Date: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026
• Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET (6:15 p.m. MT)
• Venue: Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
• TV/Streaming: Prime Video (Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung on the call), also on NFL+
• Spread: Seahawks -2.5
• Over/Under: 41.5 to 42.5, depending on the sportsbook

Odds cited are via DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM as reported by USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Covers this week, and are subject to change.

Defending Champs in an Unfamiliar Spot

The Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl champions, but they have not looked like it lately. Seattle is coming off a bruising 32-29 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers last weekend — a turnover-fest in which the Seahawks gave the ball away four times and sacked quarterback Sam Darnold repeatedly. The game’s defining moment came at the very end, when Malik Mustapha stopped Cooper Kupp a yard short of the marker to seal San Francisco’s win.

Darnold’s recent form is a genuine concern. The Seattle quarterback has thrown for just 168 and 195 yards over the past two games, completing around 60 percent of his passes while taking eight sacks in those contests, according to Covers. Against a Denver defense at altitude on a short week, the Seahawks need their offensive line to give Darnold far more protection than it did against the 49ers.

The good news for Seattle: its defense remains elite. Sports Illustrated noted that the Seahawks rank No. 2 in the NFL in EPA per play defensively, and that unit gets a favorable matchup against a Denver offense that has struggled to sustain drives all season.

Broncos’ Offense Must Wake Up

Denver’s 3-2 record masks real problems on offense. The Broncos rank among the league’s bottom-10 offensive units, and their slow starts have been startling — just 23 first-half points all season (4.6 per game), tied for the fewest in the NFL, per CBS Sports via USA Today.

Quarterback Bo Nix has averaged less than 6.0 yards per attempt in four of five games this season, a sign of an attack that head coach Sean Payton has kept deliberately conservative. Payton took over play-calling duties in last week’s comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but the offense still looked vanilla.

One more factor working against a shootout: the weather. The extended forecast for Denver on Thursday calls for rain and strong wind gusts, which could make an already low total (41.5) look generous and put even more pressure on both running games.

Key Matchups to Watch

Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. the Denver secondary. The Arizona Republic picked Seattle to win 24-21 behind “some Jaxon Smith-Njigba magic,” and the star receiver remains Darnold’s most reliable big-play threat. If Denver’s defensive backs cannot contain him, Seattle’s offense becomes far more dangerous.

Seattle’s pass rush vs. Bo Nix. The Seahawks sacked the quarterback five times against San Francisco and thrive on pressure. Nix has avoided sacks by getting the ball out quickly — but that same quick game has produced the league’s least explosive passing attack. Something has to give.

The turnover battle. Seattle turned it over four times against the 49ers and still nearly won. Both offenses rank near the bottom of the league in third-down conversion rate, per Covers, so whichever team wins the turnover margin likely wins the game.

Prediction and What’s at Stake

Most experts lean Seattle. CBS Sports picked the Seahawks 27-17, the Arizona Republic went 24-21 for Seattle, and numberFire’s model gives the Seahawks a 61.7 percent win probability, per FanDuel Research. The logic is straightforward: the better defense, the more proven quarterback, and a Denver offense that cannot score early.

But Thursday night road games are strange, the weather could be brutal, and the Broncos are 3-2 at home in Denver for a reason — altitude and noise matter. The winner stays in the thick of its division race; the loser drops to 3-3 and faces real questions about whether this season is already slipping away.

For more Thursday night action, read our recap of the Buccaneers’ 24-16 Thursday night win over the Cowboys, and see USA Today’s full Week 6 picks, odds and predictions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is Seahawks vs Broncos on Thursday Night Football?

Kickoff is Thursday, Oct. 15, at 8:15 p.m. ET (6:15 p.m. MT) at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

How can I watch Seahawks vs Broncos?

The game streams exclusively on Prime Video, with Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung on the call. It is also available on NFL+.

Who is favored in Seahawks vs Broncos?

The Seattle Seahawks are 2.5-point road favorites, with an over/under of around 41.5 to 42.5 points depending on the sportsbook.

What are the Seahawks’ and Broncos’ records?

Both teams are 3-2. The loser of Thursday night’s game will fall to 3-3.