The Seahawks head to Denver this week for a Thursday night contest between former AFC West rivals who are both off to solid starts, but not quite living up to their own expectations. Both teams are coming off 14-3 seasons, with the Seahawks winning Super Bowl LX, and the Broncos losing in the AFC Championship Game after losing starting quarterback Bo Nix to an ankle injury in the Divisional Round. So while Seattle and Denver's matching 3-2 records are hardly a disappointment, both teams head into this game feeling like they have yet to reach their potential in 2026.

"They're a tough team," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "They're really talented. Defensively, they pair their personnel well with their scheme. They're aggressive. They do a really good job affecting the quarterback, affecting the ball, and denying the ball. Offensively, it's a tried-and-true scheme that (head coach) Sean's (Payton) done over time. I know he just took over playcalling again, but the quarterback is playing at a very high level. He extends plays. It's complementary football. They're a good football team."

Here are five things to watch when the Broncos host the Seahawks on Thursday night at Empower Field at Mile High:

1. Can the Seahawks clean up their turnover issues?

We might as well just start off with the obvious, right?

When the Seahawks take care of the football, they're nearly unbeatable over the past two seasons, and they have a 15-0 record when they win the turnover battle under Mike Macdonald. The problem is that the Seahawks have not been doing a great job of taking care of the football recently, which was the biggest factor in their two losses this season.

In their two losses to the Commanders and 49ers, the Seahawks committed seven turnovers, with both teams getting 21 points off of those giveaways, including a defensive touchdown in each game. Seattle lost those games by a combined five points. And if you take it back to the last calendar year after last year's team also started with a 3-2 record, the Seahawks are 17-3 in their last 20 games, postseason included. In those three losses -- two this season and a Week 11 loss to the Rams -- the Seahawks committed 11 turnovers that resulted in 56 points for their opponents, and lost those three games by a total of seven points.

"For us, there's a sense of urgency," quarterback Sam Darnold said. "That term, that phrase, 'sense of urgency,' has been thrown around a lot the last couple of days and it's true. There needs to be a sense of urgency to get better and have ball security. I'm going to continue to be as decisive as I can be and go through my reads and trust what I see, trust my feet, all those things. Can't have turnovers. You have to protect the football in this league. If you don't, you'll pay."

On a positive note, the Seahawks have also been very good at taking the ball away from opponents, forcing an NFL leading 11 turnovers through five games, with two of those coming on special teams.

2. Can either offense improve on third down?

The Seahawks have gone 3 for 12 on third down in each of their last two games, causing their season conversion rate on that critical down to drop to 29.8 percent, the second worst mark in the NFL. The Broncos haven't been much better, converting at a 33.8 percent rate, which ranks 27th, including a 1-for-12 conversion rate last week.

As is always the case, struggling on third down is due not just to a lack of execution, but also because of what is happening on first and second down to affect the distance of those third-down attempts.

"It's a combination of both," offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said. "Obviously, we can help ourselves by being in more manageable situation. We can avoid some of the negatives like penalties or we've taken a few sacks in some inconvenient situations. That would help us more significantly if we were in more manageable third downs and then we can just do a better job at every level of executing when we are in those bad situations."

Despite having a very strong defense overall, the Broncos have actually struggled a bit on third down this year, ranking 26th in the league with opponents converting at a 45.2 percent rate, while the Seahawks defense has been strong on third down, ranking third in the league with opponents converting on 29.4 percent of third downs.

3. Can Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the rest of Seattle's passing game take advantage of a banged-up Broncos secondary?

Through five games, the Seahawks' run game has been inconsistent, putting up solid numbers in wins over the Cardinals and Chargers, and struggling to produce in other games. Injuries at running back haven't helped, nor have fumbles from multiple backs, but one way or another, the Seahawks know they need to get more out of the running game to be at their best. And with the Broncos ranking 29th in run defense (145.2 yards per game allowed), perhaps there are opportunities there for Seattle's run game on Thursday night.

That being said, due to some injuries in Denver's secondary, not to mention talent in Seattle's passing game, Thursday night's game could very well be a case of the Seahawks leaning on their productive passing game more than a night in which they get their run game on track.

Last season, throwing the ball against a very good Broncos defense and secondary was a tough task for opponents. With All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II leading the way, the 2025 Broncos ranked second in opponent completion percentage allowed, seventh in passing yards allowed, fifth in passing touchdowns allowed, and sixth in opponent passer rating.

The Broncos once again have one of the league's top defenses, so Seattle's offense will be tested on Thursday, but due to some injuries in Denver's secondary, it's possible there are more opportunities than usual for an opposing passing attack. Surtain, the 2024 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time First-Team All-Pro, has been ruled out due to an ankle injury that kept him out of last weekend's game. The Broncos will also be without starting safety Talanoa Hufanga, who injured his ankle in last weekend's game, and starting cornerback Riley Moss is questionable with a rib injury.

For any defense, dealing with Smith-Njigba is an incredibly challenging task, even at full strength, but minus multiple starters, the Broncos will really have their hands full. Through five games, Smith-Njigba has piled up 583 yards and seven touchdowns, both league highs, on 37 catches, and he has at least 100 yards and a touchdown in four of his first five games, something that had previously been done to start a season by Hall of Famers Elroy Hirsch, Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.

4. How well does Seattle's defense continue one of its strengths -- open-field tackling to limit yards after catch?

Of all the things the Seahawks defense does well to be an elite unit, one of the most basic, yet important, is the way defenders tackle in space. Yes, Mike Macdonald's scheme is diabolical, and yes, the Seahawks have game-wreckers up front, including two of the best interior linemen in the NFL in Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II, not to mention playmakers at all three levels.

But if you ask Macdonald and other coaches what the key to all their defensive success is, they just might point to effort and tackling. It's not just that individual players are good tacklers, though they are, but also the way they rally to the ball so that, even if one player doesn't make a tackle, he has teammates coming to help clean things up.

That matters every week, but it's especially relevant against the Bo Nix-led Broncos offense, which leans heavily into the short passing game. Through five games, Nix has thrown downfield (10-plus air yards) on just 23.5 percent of his attempts, the lowest rate in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. His average of 6.0 air yards per attempt is also the lowest.

Nix has also thrown 22.2 percent of his passes to targets behind the line of scrimmage, completing 31 of 36 attempts for 154 yards, the sixth most on passes behind the line of scrimmage. In other words, the Broncos will complete a decent number of passes on Thursday, but many of them will be short passes that need yards after catch to succeed. The Seahawks hope to limit that by sticking to one of their strengths: effort and tackling.

5. Just how good does this ELITE uniform matchup look on TV or in person?

OK, this is a trick question, we already know that it's going to look great, but if we're staying true to the "what to watch" part of this article, then we have to talk about what is going to be an amazing uniform matchup.

Both the Seahawks and Broncos, who used to battle every year in the AFC West, will be wearing throwback uniforms. And in a unique twist, both teams are in "home" colors, with the Seahawks in royal blue and the Broncos in orange.

I mean, just look at these uniforms. They're glorious.