SEATTLE — Kenneth Walker III rushed for 84 of his 103 yards and a touchdown in the second half and the Seattle Seahawks overcame a mistake-filled first half to beat the Denver Broncos 26-20 on Sunday in the debut of new coach Mike Macdonald.
Walker sparked a second-half rally after an unsightly performance by Seattle’s offense over the first 30 minutes littered with sloppy miscues. The Broncos led 13-9 at the half thanks in part to two safeties.
Walker changed the momentum in the third quarter as Seattle recommitted to the ground game. He gained 53 yards on five carries on Seattle’s first drive of the second half, capped by a 23-yard touchdown run. Walker had another TD called back on a penalty, but he still produced the seventh 100-yard rushing game of his career.
Walker appeared to injure himself on a 7-yard run early in the fourth quarter and didn’t play the rest of the game because of abdominal pain.
Seattle quarterback Geno Smith was part of the early struggles for the Seahawks offense but found a rhythm in the second half. Smith ran for a 34-yard touchdown in the second quarter — the longest run of his career — and hit Zach Charbonnet on a 30-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter that gave Seattle a 26-13 lead.
Smith finished 18 of 25 for 171 yards.
Macdonald won his debut after being hired as the youngest head coach in the NFL tasked with moving Seattle forward following Pete Carroll’s 14 seasons in charge of the franchise. And he’ll be thrilled with the defensive performance for 3 1/2 quarters.
Denver rookie QB Bo Nix was 26 of 42 for 138 yards and was twice intercepted on careless throws — once by Julian Love at the Seattle 1 and the other time by Riq Woolen in the fourth quarter. The Broncos finished with 231 total yards and committed three turnovers.
Nix did put together a late drive and pulled the Broncos within 26-20 with 2:09 left after scoring on a 4-yard run. But Seattle was able to run out the clock after Tyler Lockett’s one-handed catch to convert a third down, the last of his six receptions.
Safety dance
Denver scored twice on safeties, becoming just the second team since at least 1960 to score on two safeties in a season opener. Both safeties came in the second quarter — one when Anthony Bradford was penalized for holding in the end zone and later when Charbonnet was unable to escape the end zone on a run play. The only other team since 1960 with two safeties in an opener was the New Orleans Saints against Cleveland in Week 1 in 1987.
Injuries
Seattle lost starting right tackle George Fant to a knee injury in the first quarter. Fant grabbed at his right knee while blocking on a pass play and needed help to get to the sideline. He was quickly ruled out by the team and replaced by Stone Forsythe.
Denver left tackle Garrett Boles suffered an ankle injury in the second half and didn’t return.
Up next
Broncos: host Pittsburgh next Sunday.
Seahawks: at New England next Sunday.
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