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Game Day
Denver’s Best Corner Is Out. JSN’s Ankle Isn’t.
Seattle gets Denver tonight without Pat Surtain II. On Wednesday the Broncos ruled out Surtain and safety Talanoa Hufanga with ankle injuries, and they listed cornerback Riley Moss as questionable with a rib injury. Jaxon Smith-Njigba hurt his own ankle in the second half Sunday, and he has no game status. He’s playing.
JSN leads the NFL with 583 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches. Surtain misses his second straight game after getting hurt Oct. 4 in San Francisco. Against the Chargers, Kris Abrams-Draine took his spot, Jahdae Barron filled in for Moss and Devon Key replaced Hufanga in the third quarter. I wish all three a long, happy career, starting next week.
583
JSN’s receiving yards this season, the most in the NFL, with seven touchdown catches to go with them.
The catch is Denver’s pass rush, which sacked Justin Herbert five times Sunday. Sam Darnold took five against the 49ers. So the plan is to get the ball out fast and get it to No. 11. That’s not exactly a secret, and the league has had five weeks to read it.
On the other side, Bo Nix averages 5.7 air yards per attempt, last among 31 qualifying quarterbacks per ESPN, and Sean Payton took playcalling back from his coordinator after four games. Denver’s offense is throwing like it’s checking the driveway for ice.
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Denver’s offense is throwing like it’s checking the driveway for ice.
Something has to give. Since the start of 2024, Seattle is 16-3 on the road and Denver is 16-3 at home. It’ll be in the low 40s at a 5:15 p.m. kickoff our time, and Seattle is favored by a point and a half. A loss would be the third, which is how many games this team lost in the whole of last season. I’d rather not hit that number in October.
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Roster
Tyrice Knight Gets Promoted From Kickoff Duty
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Knight has played 124 snaps this season, and 101 of them came on special teams, per Seattle Sports. He made his first tackle of the year on Sunday. He also has 14 career starts, and last season against Arizona he forced two fumbles that were both returned for touchdowns. He knows where the ball lives.
“We’re confident he’ll play great,” Macdonald said of Knight. For the record, Thomas got hurt late in the second quarter Sunday and still played 46 of 56 defensive snaps. Macdonald called him “a tough cookie.”
Nix throws short, and short throws land in linebacker territory. One way or another, Knight is going to see a lot of the ball tonight.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Irv Charles came off IR Tuesday and was back on the practice squad Wednesday, trading places with Velus Jones Jr. both days. The vested-veteran waiver deadline passed Wednesday afternoon, so the revolving door is locked now. As of today, Charles’s Seahawks debut is still just a rumor. Yahoo Sports
Zach Charbonnet is out again, but George Holani practiced fully all week and has no designation after the ribs-and-knee scare. Holani and Emanuel Wilson each lost a fumble Sunday. Tonight’s plan for the backfield: carry it like it owes you money. Yahoo Sports
Three weeks ago Macdonald called Sean Payton to apologize after a clip surfaced of him saying Payton accused Seattle of cheating before the 2024 opener. “He and I are good,” Payton said. Wonderful. Tonight we see whose headset is cleaner. ESPN
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams lost Monday on a blocked overtime field goal. Then, during the postgame jersey swap, left tackle Alaric Jackson punched Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb. The league gave him two games, his appeal cut it to one, and he misses Sunday against Arizona. Congratulations on the plea deal, fellas. A team that spent the summer collecting stars is 2-3, and the biggest thing it’s won this month is a hearing.
NINERS
Dre Greenlaw lost his appeal. The one-game suspension for headbutting Ernest Jones IV stands, so he sits out Monday against Washington, per the AP. The week before, he got fined $11,941 for taunting Denver’s sideline. A fine one week and a suspension the next is a pretty steep career arc. Enjoy the Commanders game from the couch, Dre. Nobody on it is wearing a helmet either.
CARDINALS
The 45-21 loss to Detroit was Arizona’s ninth straight home loss, a franchise record, per PFT. The Cardinals haven’t won in their own building since Sept. 14, 2025. Good news, then: Sunday’s game is at SoFi. When your house is this haunted, a hotel starts to feel like a game plan.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Seattle signed this running back as a free agent in 1998, and he ran for 1,239 yards that year to become the first NFL rusher with 1,000-yard seasons for three different teams. Who is he?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Ricky Watters. He’d already done it in San Francisco and Philadelphia, and a year later his old 49ers offensive coordinator, Mike Holmgren, turned up as Seattle’s head coach.
Got Something to Yell About?
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Kickoff's at 5:15. Eat early. — The Rooster