Seahawks survive Broncos comeback bid, beat Denver in overtime

It took three and a half hours, but the Seattle Seahawks prevailed over the Denver Broncos, winning 26-20 in overtime in a fast-paced Super Bowl XLVIII rematch on Sunday.

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It was more than seven months ago when the Seahawks hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in front of the Broncos in the Meadowlands, but fast-forward to Week 3 of the 2014 NFL season, and the Broncos had their chance for revenge against the Seahawks in their own stadium.

And boy, was it a nail-biter.

Seattle jumped out to a 17-3 lead before the Broncos tied the game at 20-20 with 12 seconds left in the game to send it to overtime.

But the Seahawks took their time in the extra period, going 80 yards in more than five minutes with Marshawn Lynch finishing the game off with a six-yard touchdown run to help the Seahawks improve to 2-1 on the young season.

The Broncos defense started the game passionate and disciplined, forcing a three-and-out of Russell Wilson and the Seahawks on their first possession of the game.

But Seattle’s defense reminded the Broncos and their fans that Seattle is 19-1 since 2012 at CenturyLink Field, and they forced a fumble and recovered it on Denver’s first play of the game.

The result was a Steven Hauschka field goal that gave the Seahawks the first points of the game.

But Denver countered late in the first quarter and tied the game at 3-3 when Brandon McManus hit a 24-yard field goal.

After both teams’ defenses exchanged hard hits and great coverage in the second quarter, Wilson hit Ricardo Lockette on a booming 39-yard touchdown catch over Aqib Talib for the first touchdown of the game for either team. It was Lockette’s only catch of the game.

The pass finished a drive that needed only four plays to go 73 yards in just over two minutes, a quick TD score that has become a staple in the Seahawks offense.

After Seattle’s defense forced another Denver three-and-out, the Seahawks offense took their time to march 68 yards for another touchdown drive, this time a Wilson-to-Lynch connection with 12 seconds left in the half.

Seattle’s 17-3 lead lasted the entire third quarter as both teams combined to punt the ball five times in the quarter. Hauschka had a chance to put Seattle on the board again late in the period but he missed a 46-yard field goal.

It almost came back to bite Seattle.

The Broncos put a pair of points on the board early in the fourth quarter, tackling Lynch in the end zone for a safety that made it a 17-5 game.

Wilson tried to hit Percy Harvin in the slot on their next possession but the ball was tipped up as Harvin got hit and Chris Harris came down with the interception. It was the first time Wilson had thrown an interception since Dec. 22 in Seattle’s home loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Broncos took advantage of the rare Seahawks turnover and Manning hit Julius Thomas with a shovel pass that made it a 17-12 game with 11:02 left in the game.

Denver’s defense also stepped up to push the momentum further in their favor, forcing the Seahawks to punt while giving the ball back to Manning for a potential game-winning drive. His favorite target on the drive was newly-reinstated Wes Welker, who finished the game with six catches for 60 yards.

The duo took the Broncos all the way to the Seattle 22 before Kam Chancellor jumped a cross-route and picked off Manning’s pass, returning it all the way to the Denver 35 with a little more than two minutes left.

Seattle used a minute of the clock to give Hauschka the chance to make it an eight-point game, which he did, and the Broncos got the ball back with 0:59 left in the contest down 20-12.

But Manning drove the Broncos 80 yards in 41 seconds and completed the two-point conversion to tie the game at 20-20.

In overtime, the Seahawks were the only ones who touched the ball and Wilson and Lynch led the team to the 26-20 win.

Wilson finished the game 24-for-34 for 258 yards, two TDs and an interception. His favorite receiver was Harvin, who had seven catches go for 42 yards.

Doug Baldwin led Seahawks receivers with 56 yards on four catches on his 26th birthday.

Manning led the Broncos with 303 passing yards, 149 of which went to Emmanuel Sanders who had 11 catches on the day.

The Seahawks had more yards (384-332), more first downs (26-20) and won the possession game (38:04 – 27:42).

Seattle will head into their Week 4 bye week with a 2-1 record in the NFC West, right behind the 3-0 Arizona Cardinals.