6 winners and 3 losers from Broncos' defensive masterpiece against Seahawks

The Denver Broncos once again found themselves in a one-score game, and they once again found themselves victorious.

They gave us an absolute masterpiece defensively in the 17-14 overtime win against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, winning their second game in four days and improving to 4-2 on the season.

And while there wasn't a ton of scoring in the game, there was a ton to digest afterward. Who were the biggest winners (and most unfortunate losers) from the Broncos' win on Thursday as they head into a mini bye?

Biggest winners from Broncos' latest clutch win over the Seattle Seahawks

Winner: Vance Joseph, defensive coordinator

There is no doubt about it, the Denver Broncos' performance defensively against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 was a complete debacle. Thankfully, it was also a gross outlier.

The Broncos struggled badly with missed tackles and missed assignments as they got obliterated by the Chiefs in the season opener, but they have been fundamentally sound since that game. And against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, they were downright dominant.

Without Pat Surtain II, Talanoa Hufanga, Jonathon Cooper, and only partial involvement from Riley Moss, the Denver defense absolutely put the clamps on the Seattle Seahawks. Even though they came back late, the Denver defense did its job all night long with 17 QB hits, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, and 9 passes defensed.

The fact that Joseph had so many backups in the secondary ready to go in a game like this -- on a short week, no less -- is one of the most impressive jobs he's done since he's been in Denver. And that's saying something.

Winner: Ja'Quan McMillian, cornerback

Ja'Quan McMillian might be the most clutch player on the Denver Broncos. He is always around the football when it matters most.

Of course, everyone remembers McMillian's impressive interception in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Buffalo Bills, but if you look back at pretty much any game the Broncos have played under the lights of primetime, it feels like No. 29 is out there doing something special.

He had 5 total tackles against the Seahawks, 2 passes defensed, a sack, and an interception. His interception in overtime obviously helped solidify the win for the Broncos.

It's no secret at this point that McMillian is a free agent after the season. And he has proven himself to be a core player for this Broncos team. They should be working to extend his contract as we speak.

Winner: Nik Bonitto, outside linebacker

There were some genuine questions after the first four games of the season about where Nik Bonitto had been. He has made his presence felt over the past two games in a big way.

He was constantly putting Sam Darnold under pressure on Thursday against the Seahawks, using a Von Miller-like spin move to get home on a pass rush from the left side of the defensive formation, which feels a bit rare to see from him.

He was only credited with half a sack, but Bonitto's impact off the edge in this game is what we've come to expect from the All-Pro. He was dynamic.

He also forced a fumble on Rashid Shaheed, chasing him from behind on an end-around. With 2.5 sacks over his last two games, as well as 3 QB hits and 3 tackles for loss, Bonitto is starting to catch a little fire.

Winner: Kris Abrams-Draine, cornerback

With no Pat Surtain in this game (again), the Broncos were relying on their young duo of Kris Abrams-Draine and Jahdae Barron to step up in a tough matchup against Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Even though Smith-Njigba got his during the 4th quarter especially, these young corners were outstanding. And Abrams-Draine has shown starter-level qualities every single time he's been on the field.

He came up huge in this game with 3 passes defended as well as an interception that could have (should have?) sealed the game in the 4th quarter for the Broncos.

Winner: Malcolm Roach, defensive line

In a game in which the Broncos racked up 17 quarterback hits against Sam Darnold and the Seahawks, how about Malcolm Roach with a career-high 4 QB hits on his own?

Roach has been one of the most underrated free agent signings the Broncos have made in the Sean Payton era. He is such an important presence on the interior defensive line, but in that locker room as well.

Seeing him get after the quarterback and make such a huge impact as a pass rusher was fantastic.

Winner: RJ Harvey, running back

The only offensive player getting in this week's "winners" column is running back RJ Harvey. Although Quinn Meinerz could probably be a mainstay here every single week.

Harvey was one of the only consistently productive weapons for the Broncos' offense in this game, and he finished with a respectable 56 yards from scrimmage on just 9 touches, including a touchdown from one yard out.

Averaging 6.22 yards per touch with less than 10 touches isn't going to win Harvey any awards, but his explosiveness is something the Broncos need more of in their offense. He averaged 4.2 yards per carry, a number that is dragged down slightly by his 1-yard TD run.

We need to be seeing more of RJ Harvey -- and less of JK Dobbins -- going forward in the Broncos' running game.

Broncos interior offensive linemen can't seem to figure it out

Loser: Luke Wattenberg, center

The Denver Broncos need to replace Luke Wattenberg with Alex Forsyth at the center position, period.

Wattenberg has had far too many errant snaps this season and is getting pushed back in the running game on a consistent basis. Not that one snap would have changed an entire offensive performance, but Wattenberg had an errant snap in this game that cost the Broncos a play on a favorable down-and-distance situation.

He has consistently snapped the ball inaccurately over the last couple of seasons, causing Bo Nix to have to make impressive catches just to get the play going. This particular snap wasn't even able to be caught by Nix, and the result was a busted play.

Combine that with the fact that Wattenberg is just not strong enough at the point of attack, and you have grounds for his replacement. But since he just signed a new contract last season, that's not likely to happen.

Loser: Ben Powers, guard

Another Broncos offensive lineman finds himself in the "losers" category this week, and unfortunately, Ben Powers has been a bit of a mainstay here.

Powers was injured for much of the 2025 season, but the Broncos brought him back in 2026 on a pay cut. This would be pure speculation, but it appears that the Broncos all but guaranteed Powers a starting job if he agreed to the pay cut, because even though he was capably replaced last season by Alex Palczewski, he did not face competition in training camp.

He's been consistently getting beat at the point of attack, allowing interior pressure in pass protection as well as in the running game.

One of the easiest fixes the Broncos could make right now is to replace Powers with Alex Palczewski.

Loser: JK Dobbins, running back

Outside of a really nice 16-yard run that inspired some hope and confidence, JK Dobbins was once again brutal on Thursday against the Seahawks.

Removing his 16-yard run, he had 19 total touches for just 30 yards. The Broncos simply can't continue to deal with the lack of explosiveness or creating yardage after contact. Dobbins isn't getting enough help from the offensive line in front of him (which we just got done talking about), but even a high volume of touches and targets is not yielding positive results.

With Jonah Coleman set to come off injured reserve in Week 7, it might be time for the Broncos to seriously consider whether or not Dobbins is going to be in the starting lineup going forward.

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