The positive sign Seahawks’ offense showed in Week 6 loss

Not much went right for the Seattle Seahawks during their 17-14 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos last Thursday.

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Turnovers were an issue for the Seahawks once more as they gave the ball away three times, including on their own side of the field in overtime to set up Denver’s game-winning field goal.

The defense, while stingy for most of the game, allowed touchdowns on both of the Broncos’ drives that reached the red zone, continuing a red-zone defense issue the team has had this season.

And there were some costly penalties along the way. A facemask on Byron Murphy II on a third-down stop extended a drive and pass interference on Devon Witherspoon in the end zone later that same drive set Denver up for a 1-yard TD run.

It all added up to a third loss in the past four games for the defending Super Bowl champions.

But there was one positive Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wider receiver Michael Bumpus was able to take away from Thursday’s performance, which was that Seattle was able to get some of its pass catchers not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba more involved.

Smith-Njigba still did the lion’s share of the work in the passing game, hauling in 12 receptions for 134 yards on 16 targets. But Seattle also saw Rashid Shaheed catch five receptions for 66 yards, Cooper Kupp catch five passes for 50 yards and AJ Barner catch three passes.

The 13 catches for that trio was the most it had combined for in a game this season and more than it had over the previous two games combined (10). Shaheed had a 42-yarder among his five receptions, his longest catch during 15 regular-season games as a Seahawk, and also caught a pass for a 2-point conversion.

Rashid Shaheed with the 42-yard gain 😮‍💨

📺: @NFLonPRIME pic.twitter.com/ZQMdTEPHum

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 16, 2026

“Obviously, when you throw the ball 51 times, JSN ain’t gonna get all of it. But we’re still searching for that number two receiver, and we saw some good things on Thursday,” Bumpus said Monday during his Four Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “Rashid made a big catch down the field. Cooper Kupp was nickel and diming over there. AJ, I’d love to see to see him get more involved.

“But that was encouraging because we’ve shown that someone else can help out, and that’s all you need is five for 60, five for 50, and just be a threat.”

Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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