Broncos head coach Sean Payton has his quarterback in first-round pick Bo Nix, who will be Denver’s first rookie starting QB in Week 1 since some guy named John Elway. Will he come out firing or have rookie jitters in his first NFL start? Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver takes on the Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Live updates
Pre-game updates
Scouting report (11 a.m.): Check out how the Broncos match up with the Seahawks in Ryan McFadden’s scouting report.
Game predictions
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: Seahawks 17, Broncos 16
The Broncos have lost their last two season openers by this score, including one at Lumen Field. So why not another? OK, that’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but this has the feel of a feel-out game. Denver is trying to learn what it has in Bo Nix, and Seattle is going out under head coach Mike Macdonald for the first time. The Broncos cover, but start 0-1 for a fifth time in six years.
Ryan McFadden, beat writer: Seahawks 21, Broncos 20
History will not be on Bo Nix’s side on Sunday. Rookie quarterbacks are 0-7-1 in Week 1 in the last five seasons. Nix will put up modest numbers in his debut but it won’t be enough to beat the Seahawks in a hostile environment. Mike Macdonald earns his first win as a head coach but Denver will leave Seattle optimistic about Nix’s ability as a starter.
Troy Renck, columnist: Seahawks 23, Broncos 20
The Broncos have been energized by young players and rookie quarterback Bo Nix. There is every reason to believe they will use their underdog status to overachieve this season. It just won’t be in the opener at Seattle. Too many numbers suggest that even if Nix plays well, the Broncos will lose.
Sean Keeler, columnist: Seahawks 23, Broncos 20
Welcome to the Big Show, Bo Nix! For all the chatter about Seattle tailback Kenneth Walker III vs. the Broncos’ run defense, that’s not what nags you. What nags you is what happens when Geno Smith realizes he’s got DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett or Smith-Njigba isolated 1-on-1 against Riley Moss. Or just starts looking for wherever Moss happens to be and decides he’ll take his chances. If the Broncos hold up their end at CB2, they can hang. But that’s a massive, Godzilla-sized “if.” Especially when you can’t hear yourself think.
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Denver attempted a surprise onside kick to open the 2023 season against Las Vegas and came within about a foot of success, but Tremon Smith touched the ball a shade before it traveled 10 yards. The surprise onside, of course, is no longer available to NFL teams with the new dynamic kickoff rule in place. Last year’s gambit cost the Broncos valuable field position in a game they ultimately lost by one point.
Some way, somehow, though, Payton’s team has to find a way to start faster Sunday against Seattle and early in the season, Parker Gabriel reports.
Broncos Journal: After facing uncertainty on cutdown day, undrafted rookies Blake Watson, Frank Crum hope for prosperous future in Denver
Broncos running back Blake Watson tried his best to treat Aug. 27 as a regular day.
Denver was in the process of trimming its roster down to 53 players, and Watson spent half the day at the training facility before returning to his hotel room, where his mind began to wander. As an undrafted rookie out of Memphis, the odds were already stacked against Watson when he arrived in Denver in the spring.
Now that the moment of truth had arrived, he asked himself if there was more he could have done to strengthen his case for a roster spot. Even though head coach Sean Payton made it seem like Watson had a future in Denver, nothing was certain until the clock struck 2 p.m., Ryan McFadden reports.
Renck: Can Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix find instant success in Seattle? The numbers say no.
Stats vs. Trust. One of these variables will determine whether Bo Nix wins his debut on Sunday. And the numbers don’t add up.
I love the Broncos as a surprise team this season, but don’t like them in Week 1. When coach Sean Payton named Nix the starter, it made sense. He earned it. He is ready. Teammates believe in him.
Lost in the optimism is a sobering reality: There are few places worse for him to launch his career than Seattle, Troy Renck writes.
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