SEATTLE — The Broncos gave themselves chances from the start against the Seahawks.

Inside linebacker Alex Singleton intercepted quarterback Geno Smith’s initial pass attempt and returned the pass to Seattle’s 20-yard line.

Early in the second quarter, the Broncos punted the ball away and took advantage when Seattle’s returner botched the punt. Denver regained possession at Seattle’s 9-yard line with a chance to extend their lead to two possessions.

However, the Broncos were unable to fully realize the potential advantage, with both red-zone opportunities seeing the Broncos come away with field goals.

During Sunday’s 26-20 loss to Denver in the season opener, head coach Sean Payton later called those situations critical moments.

“The foul punt, the interception — we’ve got to get better and I’ve got to get better,” Payton said.

For much of the first half, the Broncos held the upper hand, hitting the first field goal to take a 3-0 lead and regaining a two-point lead when Seattle was whistled for a holding call in the end zone on the Seahawks’ first possession of the second quarter.

When Denver briefly trailed after a 34-yard Smith rushing touchdown, Zach Allen recorded another safety on a tackle for loss to cut the lead to 10-9. And after another impressive stop to end the second quarter, Denver took a 13-9 lead on a well-executed two-minute drill.

While the Broncos held the lead at halftime, Payton said the missed opportunities were “in the back of everyone’s mind” if the team couldn’t score touchdowns in that situation. He acknowledged that securing six points off two turnovers ultimately wasn’t enough.

“There hasn’t been enough of it,” Payton said.

The takeaways and safeties — Denver became the first team to earn two in a single game since 2017 — gave the Broncos early momentum. But as Payton said after the game, that lead was bound to change. That happened early in the third quarter, when the Seahawks pushed the pace on offense and responded to a nine-point first half to score 10 points and take a 19-13 lead. Seattle would later extend its lead to double digits with a Zach Charbonnet touchdown to open the fourth quarter.

While the offense endured a streak of nine possessions with one or fewer first downs, the defense was tasked with keeping Denver within striking distance. And eventually, Seattle found a way to decide the game.

“It was a game where you could feel the momentum shifting (from) the first half (to) the second half,” Payton said. “I just told the team there aren’t many games where the momentum doesn’t swing to each team. That’s pretty normal, and it’s important to get it back as quickly as possible.”

Denver scored a touchdown in the final period from Bo Nix with just over two minutes left, but Denver could not complete the comeback when Tyler Lockett caught a decisive pass on third down with less than two minutes left.

The opportunities were there. As Denver heads into Week 2, the team will look to seize them.