Broncos–Seahawks rivalry



The Broncos–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry in the National Football League (NFL) between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. The teams were AFC West divisional rivals from 1977 until 2001, after which the Seahawks moved to the NFC West. The Broncos lead the series 35–22. The teams have met twice in the playoffs, most notably the 43–8 Seahawks victory in Super Bowl XLVIII.

1983 AFC wild card game
The Seattle Seahawks first post-season appearance came in 1983, with the Denver Broncos as their opponent in the AFC Wild Card game. They met on Christmas Eve at the Kingdome, where the Seahawks won 31–7 and notched their first playoff victory.

Bosworth / Elway feud
Outspoken linebacker Brian Bosworth was selected by the Seahawks in the 1987 NFL draft. "The Boz" spent the weeks leading up to his first game, a week-one matchup at Denver, trash-talking the Broncos and their star quarterback John Elway. Bosworth's quote "I can’t wait to get my hands on John Elway’s boyish face" riled up the Denver fanbase, as did his nickname of "Mr. Ed" for the QB. After losing the game, the industrious Bosworth claimed that the anti-Boz t-shirts that many Denver fans wore to the game were secretly produced and sold by his own company. When Bosworth was waived by the Seahawks in 1990, Elway shed no tears and predicted the linebacker's nascent acting career would be a flop.

Harden / Largent hits
In Week 1 of the 1988 season, future NFL Hall of Fame Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent was knocked out cold by Denver safety Mike Harden. Largent suffered a concussion and lost two teeth from the brutal forearm hit; no penalty was called on the field, but Harden was subsequently fined $5,000 by the league.

Later that season, Largent got revenge. In their Week 15 rematch Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg was intercepted by Harden on an intended pass to Brian Blades. Largent followed the play out of the opposite corner of the endzone and put a huge blindside hit on Harden during the return. The hit knocked out the ball and Largent recovered the fumble himself. After Largent's payback, the original interception was nullified by a defensive holding penalty.

Super Bowl XLVIII
On February 2, 2014, the AFC Champion Denver Broncos met the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII to decide the 2013 NFL season.

The Broncos had the best offense that season (Statistically the best offense of all time), and the Seahawks had the best defense of that season.

This Super Bowl was a matchup between former AFC West adversaries, a fact that was immediately noticed by local media in the run-up to the big game. The postseason finale reignited the rivalry that had been mostly dormant for the past decade, the teams having met only 3 times since the Seahawks moved to the NFC West for the 2002 season.

On the first play of the game, the Seahawks recorded the fastest score of Super Bowl history, scoring a safety off a botched snap to Peyton Manning, 12 seconds into the first quarter.

The Seahawk defense prevailed against the Bronco offense, as Seattle went on to beat Denver 43–8.

By happenstance, the teams immediately met again on August 7, 2014, during the NFL preseason, which was both teams' next game following the Super Bowl.

Russell Wilson trade
In 2022, Seattle traded franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver after 10 years with the team. Wilson won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks, beating the Broncos 43–8.

Wilson would make his Broncos debut on Monday Night Football against the Seahawks in his return to Seattle. In a tightly contested game, the Seahawks defeated the Broncos 17-16 after kicker Brandon McManus missed a 64-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, allowing the Seahawks to run out the clock and win the game. Following the game, Broncos rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett came under intense scrutiny for his poor in-game decisions, especially his decision to let McManus attempt the field goal instead of keeping the ball in Wilson's hands on a makeable 4th and 5.

Denver ultimately failed to meet their lofty expectations for the season, as poor play by Wilson and the offense led to the Broncos going 5–12, finishing in last place in the AFC West despite boasting a defense that was among the league's elite. After stumbling to a 4–11 record through 15 games, Hackett was fired, with many analysts and observers arguing that Hackett's coaching was a major reason for Denver's woeful underperformance and Wilson's decline. To make matters worse, Denver would have had the fifth pick of the 2023 NFL draft, but it went to Seattle instead as a result of the Wilson trade. Meanwhile, the Seahawks, who were projected by many to be among the worst teams in the league, finished the season with a 9–8 record, good for second in the NFC West and the #7 seed in the playoffs and faced their rival, the NFC West champion and #2 seed San Francisco 49ers. However, Seattle lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Game.

On March 4, 2024, Wilson was informed by the Broncos organization that he would be released at the beginning of the 2024 NFL league year. The Broncos missed the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 with Wilson as their starting quarterback. The $85M dead cap hit resulting from Wilson's release set a record for the largest dead cap hit in league history. Wilson would sign a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the veteran's minimum eleven days later.