National Football League

Broncos lose in Russell Wilson's return to Seattle after bizarre decision

Updated Sep. 13, 2022 1:21 p.m. ET

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFC West Writer

SEATTLE — Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett chose to take the ball out of the hands of his highly paid quarterback with the game on the line and instead roll the dice on a long-shot, 64-yard field goal attempt by veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

Hackett and the Broncos came up snake eyes, as the McManus kick drifted wide left, giving the Seattle Seahawks a surprising 17-16 win over the Broncos in Russell Wilson's return to Seattle on Monday Night Football.

The Broncos had the ball on their own 45-yard line with 1:13 left and all three timeouts. Denver managed to run just three more plays for nine yards before settling for the long field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-5 from Seattle's 46-yard line with 20 seconds left.

"I wish we would've got a lot closer," said Hackett, who was making his debut as an NFL head coach. "It put us in that weird spot there because we were in field-goal range, but we were in that fourth-down situation. … We just made the decision we wanted to take our shot there on that one."

Hackett said he had told his offense that Seattle's 46-yard line was the mark the Broncos needed to reach in order to try a long field goal, and he thought that gave them the best chance to win.

Hackett's $245-million quarterback agreed.

"I believe in Coach Hackett," Wilson said. "I believe in what we're doing. Any time you can try and find a way to make a play on fourth-and-5, that's great, too. But also, I don't think it was the wrong decision."

The numbers did not back up Hackett's decision.

The 64-yarder would have tied for the second-longest field goal made in NFL history. McManus is 1-for-8 in his career on attempts of 60 yards or longer. He has played his entire career with the Broncos, benefiting from the high altitude in Denver in half his games.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll raised a proverbial eyebrow at the Broncos choosing to kick the field goal instead of entrusting the game to his former quarterback.

"I was surprised that they took Russ out there at the end," Carroll said. "We weren't thinking field goal there. We were thinking fourth down and they were still going. That gave us a chance to win the game there, and we were fortunate that he didn't make the kick."

Seahawks edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu said what others may have been thinking about the situation.

"Once they brought out that field-goal unit, I was like, OK, because Russell is a dangerous person, especially in short yardage," Nwosu said. "He can make a lot of things happen. When they took him out of the game and brought the field-goal unit out, I was like ‘OK, maybe they don't trust him in that situation.'

Wilson finished 29-of-43 for 340 yards, with a touchdown pass and no interceptions. He was sacked once and posted a 101.3 passer rating.

The Broncos held a 433-253 total yards advantage but fell woefully short in other aspects of the game. Denver finished with 12 accepted penalties for 106 yards, with a handful of those defensive gaffes extending drives for Seattle. And the Broncos had the ball four times in the red zone, including three times inside Seattle's 10-yard line, but had only six points to show for it. Both Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams fumbled near the goal line, with Seattle defensive back Michael Jackson recovering both.

Wilson was booed from the time he took the field for pregame warmups until the final drive, as Seattle fans let him have it throughout the game.

Wilson's replacement, Geno Smith, had his best game as a pro in recent memory, receiving chants of "Geno" from the crowd.

Smith engineered a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive to open the game, and the Seahawks never trailed from there. The key play featured Smith scrambling to escape pressure, drawing Denver's secondary in and finding an uncovered Will Dissly for a 38-yard touchdown. The Seahawks took a 7-0 lead with 11:26 left in the first quarter.

Smith completed his first 13 passes before his first miss, a high pass over the head of Rashaad Penny out in the flat. Smith finished 23-of-28 for 195 yards, with two touchdown passes and no interceptions, posting a 119.5 passer rating.

"I know what I have inside of me," Smith said when asked about those who doubted his ability. "God has blessed me with talent and a passion and a drive. As far as worrying about naysayers or anything like that, I don't get into that type of stuff.

"People can write you off, but life is about what you make it. I've just been blessed enough to be in the NFL for 10 years and been working my butt off."

Seahawks beat Broncos in Russell Wilson's return to Seattle

Craig Carton reacts to the Seahawks' win but questions the Geno Smith hype: "We're talking about Geno Smith like he's the second coming of a good quarterback?!"

The scene was set for a memorable Wilson performance. Playing for the first time against his former team, Wilson exchanged pleasantries with former players like Marshawn Lynch as well as some Seattle coaches during warmups.

Former Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright raised the 12th Man flag. Other former Seattle players in attendance included Richard Sherman, Doug Baldwin, Robert Turbin, Cliff Avril, Walter Thurmond and Walter Jones.

Wilson said he ignored the noise.

"For me personally, I didn't waver," Wilson said, while wearing a pale green tuxedo in his postgame press conference. "They may cheer for you, they may boo you. They'll love you one day and hate you the next. That's sports. But at the end of the day, I'm going to keep competing. I'm going to keep battling."

Asked if the win validated anything regarding Wilson's trade to Denver, Seattle's longtime coach had this to say.

"I don't feel like that," Carroll said. "I'm just glad we won the football game. I don't feel like validation after that. You all might think I should have been, with all that's been talked about and all that. Really, we had a great process to get ready for this game, and these guys played hard the whole time. They played smart the whole time.

"That's the kind of football we have to play."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.