The Seattle Seahawks made a statement on Sunday night, handling the Kansas City Chiefs in a 20-3 win that knocked Kansas City out of the undefeated club in Week 7.
Seattle dictated the game from start to finish, and the defense did the heavy lifting. The Chiefs came in with the NFL’s No. 1 offense, averaging 414 yards per game, but Seattle held them to 213 yards, 11 first downs and just a lone field goal. Kansas City never reached the red zone, and for only the fourth time in the Mahomes era, the Chiefs failed to score an offensive touchdown with Patrick Mahomes under center.
The victory also came at a needed moment for Seattle. The Seahawks were trying to stop a two-game losing streak while keeping themselves in the mix in the NFC West. With the San Francisco 49ers losing their first game of the season to the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams moving to 3-4 with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle had a chance to gain ground on San Francisco and stay clear of Los Angeles.
At home, the Seahawks took care of it.
The offense, while overshadowed by the defense, came through in a major way on third down. Seattle entered Week 7 ranked 29th in the league in third-down conversions, but against the Chiefs it went 11-for-16 and turned both touchdowns into third-down answers.
Both scores were highlight plays. Sam Darnold connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a toe-tapping touchdown, and Emanuel Wilson sealed things late.
Seattle is now 4-3 and turns to a Week 8 matchup with the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. Chicago opened Week 7 with a home win over the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, so the Bears will arrive rested for a trip to Lumen Field.
In Other News...
Seahawks Offense Took Another Hit At The Worst Possible Time
Seattles offense was already working with a careful, ball-control plan, and the personnel losses only made the margin for error thinner. The Seahawks finished with 87 rushing yards and 257 through the air while trying to manage the game late, but the picture got shakier when wide receiver Rashid Shaheed was ruled out for the rest of the night and running back Velus Jones Jr. went down with a hamstring injury.
Zach Charbonnets lingering knee issue adds another layer to the concern, because the Seahawks were already leaning on a methodical approach to keep things in reach. They had a late lead before the opponent stretched it out, and now Seattle has to sort through more questions about health and depth at exactly the moment it needed stability most. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Added Insult To Chiefs First Loss In Brutal Fashion
The Seahawks did more than hand Kansas City its first loss of the season in a 20-3 rout. They also turned a milestone night for Travis Kelce into one of the more memorable postgame social media moments of the year, after the tight end moved past Tony Gonzalez for the most combined regular-season and playoff receiving yards by a tight end.
Seattles jab landed after the game, when the teams social account leaned into Kelces profile off the field with a reference to Taylor Swift, his wife, along with a friendship bracelet image and a lyric quote from one of her songs. It was a sharp, very public bit of shade attached to a frustrating afternoon for the Chiefs, and it added another layer to a loss that already stung in more ways than one. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Rashid Shaheed Concern They Didnt Expect
Rashid Shaheeds afternoon took an unexpected turn in the third quarter when the Seahawks receiver exited with a knee injury and headed to the locker room with a trainer. He was quickly listed as questionable to return, leaving Seattle to sort through the immediate impact of losing one of its most dynamic playmakers in the middle of the game.
The Seahawks have already had to adjust their offensive approach without him, a reminder of how quickly a game plan can change when a key receiver is unavailable. His status will be one of the bigger things to monitor as Seattle tries to navigate the rest of the game and, if needed, plan ahead for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]