Broncos Hopefully Ready For Prime Time As They Host Seattle On Thursday Night

Thursday night used to be the domain of George Costanza, Frasier Crane and Sheldon Cooper. Now, the "Must-See TV" headliners are Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.

It was November 2006 when the NFL unveiled "Thursday Night Football," which, at the time, only aired during the season's second half. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, the NFL soon fully expanded its footprint into what had previously been simply known as "the day before Friday," showing a full slate of TNF games beginning in Week One.

The early years of TNF also arrived when the NFL still had a rule stating that all of its teams had to make at least one prime-time appearance per season. That meant that TNF often became a dumping ground for some less-desirable games.

The TNF tide turned when that archaic rule went away and the league started using the Week One contest as a showcase for the defending Super Bowl champion, who would host some other high-profile team.

Another factor that has resulted in a beefed-up TNF slate came in 2022 when Amazon Prime became the exclusive broadcast home for the TNF package. With Amazon inking an 11-year, $11-billion deal with the league, the streamer had obviously earned the right to demand that some marquee matchups be included in the TNF schedule.

In a 2026 season that has already seen eye-catching matchups like New England Patriots-Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions-Buffalo Bills through five weeks, it appears that we can expect another one when the Denver Broncos host defending Super Bowl champion Seattle on Thursday night.

The Broncos' recent history on TNF has been spotty, as they have a 4-4 record since 2020. The results have been a little better since Sean Payton arrived as head coach prior to the 2023 season. In five games on Thursday since then, the Broncos have gone 3-2, including a pair of wins in 2025, 10-7 over the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 6, and 20-13 over the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas night.

Overall, Payton has been fond of playing in prime-time games as he fashioned a 36-18 record in Thursday, Sunday and Monday games played under the lights while coaching the New Orleans Saints.

Since Mike Macdonald became head coach of the Seahawks in 2024, Seattle has gone 3-1 in TNF games, including a 13-10 defeat of the Patriots in the 2026 lid-lifter on Sept. 9 (which was technically played on Wednesday).

The teams last met on a Sunday in 2024, the first week of the season, when the Seahawks posted a 26-20 win in rookie Denver quarterback Bo Nix's first game at the helm and, of course, their most famous meeting came on Feb. 2, 2014, when the Seahawks defeated the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Both squads enter the contest with 3-2 records. The Broncos are coming off a come-from-behind 23-17 defeat of the winless Los Angeles on Sunday, while the Seahawks' most recent game was a 32-29 defeat at the hands of the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

Even with Payton reclaiming play-calling duties, the Broncos' offense continued to struggle against the Chargers. That has led to promises that Nix, who has been struggling, will just "let it rip" going forward as the Broncos look to track down the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. The game also gives the Broncos the opportunity to make a prime-time statement with the entire NFL world watching.