The Chiefs had a night they’d rather forget in Seattle, dropping their first game of the 2026 NFL season 20-3 and never really finding a rhythm on “Sunday Night Football.”
Kansas City’s offense was squeezed from both directions. Patrick Mahomes finished with 165 passing yards, and the Chiefs repeatedly moved into Seahawks territory without turning that into much of anything.
They reached Seattle’s side of the field five times and came away with only three points. Mahomes also threw an ugly interception when pressure forced the issue, and the ball came out on a decision that never should have been made.
Right tackle Joshua Ezeudu, making his first NFL start since 2024, had a rough night.
The Chiefs were still hanging around into the fourth quarter before Harrison Butker’s 45-yard field goal attempt with 8 1/2 minutes left missed wide, killing one of their last real chances to make it interesting. Mahomes’ best moment may have come on a play that didn’t even look like it would survive the snap - after he was stripped late in the third quarter, he tracked down his own fumble and rescued the possession. That drive ended with a Butker field goal.
Kansas City also couldn’t get much going on the ground. Kenneth Walker’s return to Seattle wasn’t much fun for the former Seahawks back, who was held to a season-low 36 yards and 2.6 yards per carry.
He never found space against Seattle’s front, and his longest run was only 7 yards. The Seahawks had gone 35 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher; now it’s 36.
Defensively, the Chiefs ran into Jaxon Smith-Njigba at his best. The Seahawks wideout racked up 150 yards and was already sitting on six catches, 129 yards and a touchdown by halftime.
On the scoring play, rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane had tight coverage and Kansas City brought eight on the blitz, but Smith-Njigba still worked himself into perfect position at the goal line. Sam Darnold didn’t need much time to make throws, and the Chiefs rarely got enough pressure to disrupt him.
Veteran cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was targeted often.
Still, Kansas City got one bright spot from Nohl Williams. Just before halftime, he stepped in front of a Sam Darnold pass in the back of the end zone intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba and took it 65 yards the other way. The Chiefs couldn’t turn the takeaway into points, but Williams also added a tackle for loss, continuing his strong second-year jump.
Seattle’s ground game was quieter for most of the night with Zach Charbonnet out, and the Chiefs took advantage of that for much of the game. But the Seahawks did get a late burst when Emanuel Wilson broke free for a 21-yard touchdown run in the final minutes. Before that, Darnold himself hurt Kansas City with third-down scrambles, converting on third-and-7 and third-and-9.
Special teams did Kansas City no favors either. Butker missed from 58 yards right before halftime and then pushed a 45-yard try that would have trimmed the deficit to one score in the fourth quarter. He did connect on a 50-yarder late in the third quarter, but the misses stood out.
There was one decent return spark for the Chiefs. Nikko Remigio hesitated coming out of the end zone on a kickoff, then turned it into a 44-yard return, his longest of the season. Emmett Johnson also chipped in with a 41-yard return.
Kansas City now heads back to the AFC West for a visit to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 1. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m., with the game on CBS (Channel 5 TV in Kansas City.)
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