The Seahawks didn’t just beat the Chiefs on Sunday night. They dragged Kansas City into a game that looked nothing like the Patrick Mahomes era.
Seattle’s 20-3 win gave the Chiefs their first loss of the season, but the bigger story was how completely the Seahawks controlled the Kansas City offense. For one night, the league’s most dependable machine barely looked functional.
The clearest number of all was the final one: 3 points. Mahomes has never been shut out as a starter, and this matched the 27-3 loss to the Titans in 2021 for the fewest points the Chiefs have scored with him under center. Even in a 2024 season where Kansas City won just six games and Mahomes missed three, the Chiefs never dipped below nine points.
Seattle also took away the ground game in a way nobody else had managed this season. Kenneth Walker finished with 36 rushing yards on 2.6 yards per carry, both season lows. ESPN’s Mina Kimes noted his 29 percent success rate, another season low, and he never popped a run longer than seven yards.
That mattered because the Seahawks didn’t let Walker settle in at all. They kept him from doing damage on the kind of runs that usually force a defense to back off, and they made it look like Mike Macdonald had the matchup mapped out from the start.
Kansas City’s kicking game was the only thing that briefly kept the night from slipping away sooner. Harrison Butker connected from 50 yards for the Chiefs’ only points, but he also missed from 58 yards and later from 45 when Kansas City still had a shot to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter.
The bigger warning sign was how little the Chiefs were able to even threaten the Seattle end zone. They never reached the red zone once, the first time that has happened in a Mahomes start. Their 213 total yards were also the fewest in a regular-season game with him at quarterback.
And there was one more line that summed up the whole night: zero explosive plays. CBS Sports’ Doug Clawson noted that it was the first game of Andy Reid’s head coaching career without a gain of at least 10 rushing yards or 20 passing yards.
The champs may still be the champs, but in Seattle, the Seahawks made them look human.
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Chiefs Fans Will Be Watching One Matchup Closely In Seattle
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One of the biggest questions for Chiefs fans is how Seattle handles life without Kenneth Walker III, who has been one of the leagues more productive backs with his rushing production and touchdowns. The Seahawks still have Jaxon Smith-Njigba playing at a high level, so Kansas City will need to be sharp against both the run game and a passing attack that can still create problems if the Chiefs are not locked in from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Suddenly Face A Backfield Question They Can't Ignore
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To help cover the spot, the Chiefs signed Jaydn Ott from the practice squad to the active roster, giving themselves another option as they try to absorb the loss. Kansas City also got linebacker Cooper McDonald back from injured reserve, a small boost on the defensive side, but the bigger concern right now is how the offense handles a sudden hole in its backfield rotation. [Read more 🡒]