SEATTLE (AP) — Paxton Lynch insisted the opponent provided no extra

incentive or motivation.After spending last year out of the NFL Tyler Lockett Color Rush Jersey , Lynch had his own motivation.“I just wanted to show myself all the hard work I had put in had paid off,” Lynch said. “I had a long offseason basically. While everyone else was playing I was at home, I wasn’t playing, I was watching on TV. I was working hard. I was building myself up, believing in myself and trying to get back to where I was, and trying to figure out how I could do that.”Article continues below ...Lynch threw for one score and ran for another against his former team as part of an impressive second-half performance, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 22-14 win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night.Competing with Geno Smith for the backup job behind Russell Wilson, Lynch made up for some shaky moments during the first two weeks of training camp by leading Seattle on a trio of second-half scoring drives using both his arm and legs to move Seattle’s offense.Lynch was 11 of 15 for 109 yards and added another 38 yard rushing. He hit 6-foot-5, undrafted free agent Jazz Ferguson on a 6-yard TD in the third quarter, and added a 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by bulling through Denver defenders at the goal line.Lynch was a former first-round pick of the Broncos in 2016, only to be released before the start of last season and spent the year out of football.“He lit up the whole team. It was really good,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.Joe Flacco made his Denver debut Frank Clark Color Rush Jersey , although it was a brief appearance for the Broncos’ starting QB. Flacco played just one series and completed 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards, leading to a field goal before turning it over to backups Kevin Hogan and a lengthy look at rookie Drew Lock.“Obviously you want to put the ball in the end zone there, but we did some simple things very well and it was definitely good to get out there and get live-action,” Flacco said.Lock struggled in his first outing last week against Atlanta in the Hall of Fame game, but was better against Seattle. Lock was 17 of 28 for 180 yards. He threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Devontae Jackson late in the fourth quarter, but was intercepted after being hit with 2:01 left.“Obviously, it can be better, but I thought he’d made progress this week both in practice and in the game and I think it showed at times out there,” Denver coach Vic Fangio said. “But you know, it’s still a process for him and I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I think this past week and this game were great for him.”Lynch and Smith split duties in the opener with Wilson spending the evening as a spectator. Smith was asked to face a good chunk of Denver’s starting defense initially, including Von Miller Dion Jordan Color Rush Jersey , but even against reserves the night was a struggle for the veteran as Seattle’s reserve offensive line couldn’t consistently give Smith time in the pocket.Smith was 3 of 9 for 58 yards and a passer rating of 56.7, although he nearly had a 34-yard touchdown connection with DK Metcalf late in the first half only to see the pass tip off Metcalf’s outstretched fingers.Lynch took over at halftime and led Seattle on a pair of third-quarter scoring drives, the first leading to a 43-yard field goal from Jason Myers and the second capped with his strike to Ferguson.Ferguson finished with four catches for 54 yards.SMITH SURGERYCarroll said Smith will undergo surgery on Friday to have a cyst removed from his knee. The surgery is minor and Carroll said there is a chance Smith could be back in time for Seattle’s next preseason game on Aug. 18.INJURIESDenver lost rookie tight end Austin Fort to an apparent left knee injury after making a 29-yard catch in the fourth quarter. Fort immediately grabbed at his knee after planting his foot and had to be carted off the field. Fangio said Fort would get an MRI back in Denver.Seattle picked up a pair of notable injuries to offensive tackle/tight end George Fant and running back Bo Scarbrough. Fant left in the first half with what Carroll called a “legit” right ankle sprain after getting rolled up from behind while blocking downfield. Scarbrough, who was expected to get the bulk of carries in the second half, injured his hand in the third quarter. X-rays on Scarbrough’s hand were negative.NATIONAL ANTHEMSeahawks Duane Brown, Quinton Jefferson and Branden Jackson remained in the locker room during the national anthem, before joining their teammates on the sideline. It was a continuation of what the trio did during the anthem last season.UP NEXTBroncos: Denver will host San Francisco on Monday, Aug. 19.Seahawks: Seattle travels to Minnesota on Sunday, Aug. 18. RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Jordan Simmons was basically an unknown when the Seattle Seahawks claimed him off waivers from the Oakland Raiders on Sept. 2.He’d barely played in college at USC due to injuries. His NFL tape was limited. But Seattle offensive line coach Mike Solari saw tools he could work with. Solari saw strength and footwork that created a good foundation, and knew the rest could be taught and developed.Solari has done a lot of teaching this year and it’s paying off. After several seasons of Seattle’s offensive line being a major problem, it’s become a solid position group that is clearly not the weakness it’s been in the past. And the line’s overall performance is part of the reason Seattle’s on the cusp of a postseason berth heading into Sunday’s game at San Francisco.“It’s the whole unit working together as one Tedric Thompson Color Rush Jersey ,” Solari said. “They’re just getting better. It’s exciting how they are coming along and come together functioning as one.”At times in previous seasons, Seattle couldn’t run the ball effectively. Other times, the Seahawks couldn’t adequately protect Russell Wilson. Too often it was a case of both happening in the same game.That has changed. Seattle is the No. 1 running team in the NFL. The Seahawks have the most carries and are the only team to reach the 2,000-yard mark — exactly — after 13 games. They’ve also done an adequate job of protecting Wilson outside of the first two weeks, when he was sacked six times each by Denver and Chicago. Since the start of Week 3, Seattle has allowed just 27 sacks, tied for 13th best in the NFL. And while that’s not an astounding number, consider that during the same stretch Wilson has the second-highest passer rating of any quarterback in the league.“They all can play and carry their own,” coach Pete Carroll said. “They’re smart, they know what’s going on and it’s a credit to the job that Mike (Solari) has done with these guys but it’s a very positive outlook for this group for the coming years, too.”Simmons is a small part of Seattle’s success, but he speaks to the improvement of the entire unit. The two times Simmons has been thrust into starting this season — Week 10 against the Los Angeles Rams and last week against Minnesota — there was no fall off in the performance of the offensive line. It may just be coincidence but those two games Simmons has played were the two best running games by the Seahawks all season.The improvement in the run game has really highlighted how much better Seattle has been along the offensive line. The additions of D.J. Fluker and J.R. Sweezy at the guard positions and a much better season by right tackle Germain Ifedi has led to the massive jump.A year ago Ethan Pocic Color Rush Jersey , Seattle ranked 23rd in the league, averaging 101.8 yards per game. A huge chunk of those yards came from Wilson’s legs. This season, Seattle is averaging 153.8 yards per game. And in the two games Fluker missed due to injury and Simmons started, Seattle ran for 273 yards against the Rams and 214 against the Vikings.“I think it’s good I can come up and not miss a heartbeat from what we’ve been doing,” Simmons said. “But that goes to the four other guys on the line, not just me. I think with all of us being able to do the run game and get numbers like that is pretty big.”Solari has gotten the bulk of the credit for improving a unit that had stagnated under previous offensive line coach Tom Cable.But there’s been a stronger commitment to staying with the run by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, better options at running back with Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny and Mike Davis, and some creative ideas about how to make a run-first offense function. A perfect example has been the use of tackle George Fant reporting eligible as a tight end for several games and getting another big body on the line — and last week catching his first pass.“It’s a group that’s worked so hard on and off the field. They do a great job in the classroom. They do a great job in being accountable to each other and they take pride in their work,” Solari said. “It doesn’t matter who is in there. They’re working as one and it’s a credit to them.”