Yahoo Sports Staff Updated Fri, October 16, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this story The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos will open Week 6 on "Thursday Night Football," with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET from Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks enter at 3-2, two games back in the NFC West, after dropping two of their last three games (Week 3 @ WAS, Week 5 vs. SF). While Seattle's run game continues to flounder, reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba is holding strong, leading the league in receiving yards (583) and receiving touchdowns (seven). The defense continues to do its part, too, giving up a league-low 251.2 yards per game while forcing a turnover on 15.5% of opponent drives — the sixth-highest rate in the league.
The Broncos also sit at 3-2 ahead of Week 6, but have looked like a shell of the team that advanced to the AFC championship just last year. Bo Nix has continued to struggle, with head coach Sean Payton taking over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb as they search for a spark. Further hurting Denver's cause, the team will be without two All-Pros on defense this week, with cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga both ruled out with ankle injuries.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Denver Broncos host the Seattle Seahawks on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 6, airing on Amazon Prime Video .
… is this the night Sean Payton gets Bo Nix going?
After a slow start for the offense this season, head coach Sean Payton made headlines with the announcement that he'd resume play-calling duties, taking over for new OC Davis Webb. And the initial results weren't particularly promising.
Though the Broncos beat the Chargers in Week 5, the offense left plenty to be desired in Sean Payton's return to play-calling.
Through three quarters, Denver managed just 10 points and 138 net yards (81 passing, 57 rushing), picking up a first down on just 17.5% of its plays.
To put that in perspective, when compared with every team's per-game average through the first three quarters this season, Denver's 10 points would rank 30th among 32 teams, while its yardage and first-down rate would both rank dead last .
Denver rallied to score 13 in the fourth quarter and overtake LA for the lead … but we'll need to see more production from this group going up against a Seahawks offense that ranks eighth in the league, averaging 26.8 points per game this season.
Money line odds: Seahawks -142, Broncos +120
Barner has had a relatively quiet start, amassing 12 receptions on 20 targets for 122 yards. He's recorded one touchdown, which came via a goal-line score on a play dubbed "Barnyard" in Seattle.
But while the numbers haven't been overly impressive, I think this matchup against Denver sets up a prime spot for more activity. The Broncos are going to bring copious amounts of pressure, with the hope they can unsettle Darnold. Denver's defense wreaked havoc last weekend in Los Angeles, sacking QB Justin Herbert five times in the victory.
With that in mind, Darnold must get his safety valve(s) involved, and I think that puts Barner in a perfect spot to be the beneficiary of more targets. He's cleared this number twice in his last three games and will face a defense that has allowed 7.8 targets per game to the tight end position.
Read more from our team's "Thursday Night Football" preview, including a pick against the spread and point total parlay for Seahawks vs. Broncos.
The Denver Broncos are without two of their starters in the secondary for Week 6, including two-time All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II and one-time All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga — a huge break for Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks secondary.
To make matters even worse, CB2 Riley Moss is banged up with a rib injury and was questionable heading into Thursday night after being limited in practice throughout the week.
With less than 90 minutes remaining until the Seahawks and Broncos kick off, each team has announced its inactives for Week 6.
The Broncos' secondary is banged up. Star cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga missed practices this week and have both been ruled out. Surtain's absence in particular puts Moss on the spot, assuming he's able to play through a rib injury that had him as a limited participant in practice. He was officially listed as questionable after being limited throughout the week.
If Moss plays, he's likely to draw Jaxon Smith-Njigba in coverage on many snaps. Smith-Njigba is the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year and this season leads the NFL with 583 receiving yards. JSN has been limited in practice as well, with an ankle injury. If Smith-Njigba plays, whoever draws him in coverage on the Broncos' side has the most important assignment of the night.
Read more from our team's Seahawks-Broncos preview, including betting market insights and fantasy football storylines to watch.
Source: Sport
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