Broncos Get Big Game From Newlywed Russell : AFC: Running back rushes for 109 yards and scores game-winning touchdown in 17-10 victory over Seahawks.

Apparently, married life agrees with Leonard Russell. So do the Seattle Seahawks.

Russell, whose wedding was on Saturday, ran for 109 yards Sunday, including an 11-yard touchdown run with 5:43 to play, as the Denver Broncos defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 17-10, to escape the AFC West cellar.

Russell, whose two 100-yard rushing games this season were both against the Seahawks, broke a 10-10 tie with his slashing run off the left side, capping an 80-yard, nine-play drive. Russell started the drive with a 20-yard run, and John Elway completed all five of his passes on the march.

“All through my career, I’ve played well against Seattle,” Russell said. “I don’t have an answer for that.”

While declining comment on his marriage--”I’ll keep you guessing,” he told reporters--Russell apologized to his teammates for the turmoil of the past week. He was arrested for disorderly conduct early Monday after an altercation in a local bar, but Bronco Coach Wade Phillips absolved him of blame, saying the other man threw the first punch.

“I had a real rough week and I had to make it up to my teammates for putting them through what I did,” Russell said.

The Broncos (4-6), who have won four of their last six games and have won five in a row over the Seahawks, then stopped Seattle near the Broncos’ 20-yard line to hand the fading Seahawks (3-7) their sixth consecutive loss.

“Having Leonard Russell go over 100 yards helped us,” Phillips said. “He’s tough, he’s difficult to stop. John Elway scrambled for some big plays, and I thought our defense played great.”

Denver, which came into the game with the worst defense in the league, giving up 368.8 yards a game, limited the Seahawks to 289.

Seattle had pulled into a 10-10 tie with 11:39 left on Chris Warren’s 23-yard romp up the middle, finishing a 43-yard drive that started with cornerback Orlando Watters’ interception.