The Kansas City Chiefs walked into Sunday night unbeaten and walked out with their first loss of the 2026 season, a 20-3 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks that never really felt close enough for comfort.
For a while, Kansas City was hanging around. The first four possessions left the Chiefs staring at a 3-0 deficit, and the game still had some room for a swing. Then came Patrick Mahomes’ interception, and Seattle made the Chiefs pay in a hurry.
From the Kansas City 28, Sam Darnold fired a back-shoulder strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who hauled it in through tight coverage from rookie first-round pick Mansoor Delane and got the ball down just inside the front left pylon. That touchdown pushed Seattle ahead 10-0, and that gap ended up feeling like a wall.
Smith-Njigba was the difference all night. A game that was supposed to center on the return of reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker turned into a showcase for Seattle’s top passing threat instead. The receiver kept Kansas City off balance with nine catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs never found a clean answer.
That shouldn’t have been a complete shock. Smith-Njigba entered the game with 100 or more receiving yards in five of his first six games this season.
Still, the Chiefs clearly didn’t want to be the next defense to become part of that streak. Instead, they watched him beat Delane on two of his longest receptions, including the 28-yard touchdown.
Seattle also found favorable matchups against L’Jarius Sneed. Darnold spotted the mismatch when Smith-Njigba lined up across from him, and almost any receiver was giving Sneed trouble in the first half anyway. According to SumerSports, he allowed five catches on five targets for 83 yards before defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo turned to Chris Roland-Wallace in the second half.
Walker, meanwhile, was held down by his former team. Kansas City limited him to 36 yards on 14 carries, a 2.6-yard average.
The more pressing problem for the Chiefs was on the other side of the ball. Their protection, which had held up well through a 5-0 start, was under siege all night. With Kahlil Benson still filling in for Josh Simmons at left tackle and Joshua Ezeudu starting at right tackle for the concussion-ruled-out Jaylon Moore, Mahomes faced a 53% pressure rate and looked uncomfortable far too often.
Seattle had clearly prepared for Mahomes’ movement plays, too. Defensive back Nick Emmanwori chased him down midway through the second quarter, and under that heat Mahomes forced a throw that landed in the hands of safety Ty Okada for the interception.
Kansas City needed something cleaner from its supporting cast if it was going to mount a comeback, and it didn’t get it. Xavier Worthy dropped a pass that would have moved the chains early in the fourth quarter, with Emmanwori again in pursuit. Mahomes looked frustrated after the miss, and the offense never really regained traction.
Then Harrison Butker missed his second kick of the night, another blow at a point when Kansas City seemed to be searching for any opening at all.
That miss carried extra weight because this wasn’t a game against a winless team like the Los Angeles Chargers, where the Chiefs could survive their own mistakes and still find a way to win. Against a Seahawks team that looks headed for the postseason, the margin for error vanished fast. Between the injuries, the protection issues, the trouble finishing sacks and the kicking problems, Kansas City came away with a legitimate concern at kicker.
If Sunday night needed one clean explanation, it was Smith-Njigba. He was the engine of Seattle’s offense while Kansas City struggled to generate much of anything around Mahomes.
Travis Kelce did have a productive start to the season, but at 37 he can’t be asked to carry the receiving group every week. And while it’s a stretch to say Rashee Rice would have matched Smith-Njigba’s night, the Chiefs plainly missed him.
Rice had back-to-back 80-plus-yard games in Weeks 2 and 3, and Kansas City could feel the absence of that kind of production. Even with a possible return from a hamstring injury next week, there’s still a case that the Chiefs need more help at wide receiver before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
By night’s end, Smith-Njigba had 14 touches for 163 yards from scrimmage. Kansas City’s top skill-position producer, Kenneth Walker, finished with more than 100 fewer yards.
The formerly undefeated Chiefs were humbled in Seattle.
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