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What The Broncos Said Following Their Season Opener Against The Seahawks

Take a look at what the Broncos said following their meeting in Week 1 against the Seahawks. 

Head Coach Vance Joseph

On QB Case Keenum's performance... "He had three interceptions, that's not good, but he also had three touchdowns and he stayed aggressive for us. We pulled a win out, but obviously we can all play better. I was pleased with our team in all three phases—how we kept playing and how we finished the game, so a win's a win. It's a hard league to win in, so I'm pleased with our guys."

On if that's as good as he's seen OLB Von Miller play... "Since I've been here, yes. I mean, what, three sacks, two forced fumbles, a recovery. He's in the top 50 of the league as far as history of sacks. He's a special player, but if you're not playing with a lead, he can't be special. Last season, we played with I think two leads, so hopefully we can get more leads and he can be special each week for us."

On struggling to cover Seahawks TE Will Dissly... "It wasn't scheme, it wasn't guys not being covered, it was really missed tackles. He had two plays of 105 yards. At halftime, they had 129 passing and he had 105, so it wasn't a matchup problem, it wasn't a scheme problem, it was simply missed tackles."

On if the feeling after today's win is more excitement or relief... "I think it's a little bit of both, but we can play better. We obviously outgained this football team, but we gave them too many chances to stay in the game. I'm pleased that we won the football game, but we can get better. We can't give away three balls each game, which led to 14 points. So, very pleased that we won, but anxious to get back to work to fix these issues."

On the team's resilience... "We talked about this last night and we talked about when adversity showed it's head, we just play right through it. Last year, we had some chances where adversity showed and we didn't play through it. Hopefully our team this year can play through adversity because every game is going to be tough. It's a hard league, so you're going to have some ups and downs in games, but you want your team to be resilient and play right through adversity. The good teams do that."

Quarterback Case Keenum

On keeping focused when trailing or throwing an interception... "It's playing the next play. The game is still in our hands. We're up, then they went and scored the touchdown. We've got to go make a play. You've got to forget about everything that you've done and play the next play. It was a big-time drive—one we needed at the most. I was really proud of my guys, they made some great plays. [Offensive Coordinator] Bill [Musgrave] had some great calls at the right time. Obviously, not exactly how you draw it up, but it doesn't matter how. It matters how many, and that was our first one. I'm really excited about how good this football team can be. We take care of the ball—I take care of the ball, those are all on me—we're going to be really hard to beat. I think defensively, getting the ball back three times was great. The big stop when we needed it at the end, another stop that led to points. I think they did a great job today, they saved my butt. I appreciate those guys. Offensive line was incredible today. It was awesome to watch those guys. There were some plays where I had so much time in the pocket. I'm going to be so excited to watch the film and see those guys play. Outside, there were some guys making some great plays. Almost everyone touched the ball today. It was a great team win."

Outside Linebacker Von Miller

On playing against Seahawks QB Russell Wilson... "I still don't like playing against Russell. Running around out there, 20 yards, getting everybody tired, luckily we were able to get him before he could get it started. That was in our scheme. We wanted to keep him in the pocket. We wanted to let him beat us with his arm, which he is capable of doing. But we really picked that position, and that strategy worked for us. He got out of the pocket a couple of times. That's Russ. He's a great player. He's an elite player. He's going to get out of the pocket. But we kept some of the greater plays to a minimum."

On if he felt like Seattle was focused on stopping him... "I really didn't pay attention to it. I had a lot of traffic over there, from the tight end chips to the receiver and running back chips to the guard and tackle slot. I think when you put so much thought into it, it really takes away from the rush. I know we've got really great rushers all across the field. All I've got to do is rush. If the time is ticking and [Wilson] is holding the ball [for] four or five seconds, somebody else is coming. So having Bradley and Shaq and Shane and Wolfe and all those guys, it definitely eases the mind."

On recording a strip fumble against Seahawks RB Chris Carson... "I had olé'ed outside, and technically that's not a good move (laughing). You want to be stout, shock and scare. But I olé'ed outside, so I knew I needed to get back down to be able to make the tackle, and the running back, he was running and I just saw the ball and I just grabbed it. I've made similar plays before, but I was able to stay up and run with the ball. [Defensive Coordinator Joe] Woods and Coach Beake (Assistant Defensive Line Coach Chris Beake) and all the defensive guys, they've been preaching 'Run to the ball, run to the ball, run to the ball,' and this whole offseason, I've been like 'Why? Why? Why?' Now I see it. Now I see it. So I appreciate you, Coach."

On his message to the defense... "You want to keep this team in the moment. Kind of like what I said earlier in this conversation, you don't want to ever move too fast or too slow. You want to take advantage of the moment. It's hard enough to win in this league. It doesn't matter what team you're playing. It's hard to come in. You want to stay in this moment. You want to focus on the things that we did well and try to transfer that moment over to the second week, week to week. You just want to kind of stay in the moment, stay in the groove, stay in the rhythm."

Outside Linebacker Bradley Chubb

On his first play being a half-sack on Seahawks QB Russell Wilson... "It was crazy because in college at the start of my senior season, I got a TFL on the first play. I feel like it was just reoccurring. It's definitely exciting and something to look forward to."

On covering NFL tight ends... "It's a lot different than covering running backs coming out of the back field in college and stuff like that. Getting my first taste of that today was good. I feel like I did alright. There's a lot of room for improvement, so I just have to keep getting better like I said."

Inside Linebacker Todd Davis

On playing defense in a tight game... "We love it. When the game is on our shoulders, I think we bow up. We play big. [OLB] Von [Miller] made some great plays tonight and we got the win."

On limiting Seahawks QB Russell Wilson's running... "We worked on it all practice. [QB] Chad [Kelly] was out there giving us a great look. Every time something was clogged up, he got out of the pocket. We really worked on scrambling and plastering the routes downfield. I think it really paid off for us during the game."

On how he studied for the game... "I studied a lot. First-year coordinator over there (Brian Schottenheimer), came over from Indy, so I even went back and looked at some of the Indy film. I just really wanted to get a good knowledge of what they like to do against us. I think it paid off. I think we played well as a defense and we made some big plays."

Cornerback Chris Harris Jr.

On containing Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson... "That was the gameplan. Just trying to contain him. He's a top-5 quarterback in the league and I can't say anything negative about Russell Wilson. He's a great quarterback."

On if he thought the key to the game was whether Russell Wilson or Von Miller played better... "I didn't think that. We just wanted to be the best defense on the field and we know that in primetime games that big time players need to make plays. (Von) made plays, [DE Derek] Wolfe made plays, I made plays, [CB Bradley] Roby made plays. We've got tons of guys who balled today and that's what it's going to take."

Cornerback Adam Jones

On getting the game-clinching interception and winning the first game with his new team... "It felt really good just to be out here. The atmosphere is unbelievable, my teammates are really good. We never buckled on the sideline. We stayed together. We made it a little bit harder than we should have today, but great teams get the 'W.'"

On the defense being able to force turnovers... "As everybody knows, [Seahawks QB] Russell [Wilson] doesn't turn the ball over too much—that's his M.O. [OLB] Von [Miller] is a monster—he's a man among boys out here. It's just amazing to look at everybody that's having fun and trying to compete. Everybody's got one goal and that's to win."

Running Back Phillip Lindsay

On exchanging jerseys with Seahawks FS and former University of Colorado teammate Tedric Thompson... "That's my brother. I was excited to be able to do that. I haven't got to see him in a long time. To be able to see him go out three, he actually made a couple tackles on me. It was exciting."

Safety Will Parks

On slowing down Seahawks QB Russell Wilson... "That was a whole defensive effort, rush and coverage coming together. Of course '58' (Broncos OLB Von Miller) doing what he does. [S] Justin [Simmons] and [CB] Chris [Harris Jr.] coming up with a key sack and a pick. It was just a total effort. We emphasized [Wilson] all week, trying to get the ball in somebody else's hands. Obviously, Russ was trying to do what he does. It was just total execution all over the board, starting with the calls all the way down to the players. It was a pretty good job."

On difficulty containing Seahawks tight ends... "They just got us in a couple of zone coverages. Like I said, with a mobile quarterback like [Seahawks QB Russell Wilson], you've got to be good with your eyes. At the end of the day, nine times out of 10 he's going to roll out to throw the ball. Sometimes you can get caught trying to read your keys and the next thing you know, you have a man and he rolls out to the other side. That's just the nature of the game and teams coming up with a plan. They're pros too, just like we are. They're going to have their gadget plays and trick plays. We need to do a better job at that at the end of the day."

Game action photos from the Seahawks' 2018 season opener against the Denver Broncos.

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