By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Chiefs offense sputtered to a halt and the defense could not slow down the Seattle Seahawks, falling 20-3 on Sunday Night Football at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
The energy of the 12th man at Lumen Field was loud throughout the game, causing problems for the Chiefs offense. The game highlighted the injury woes at wide receiver, as Chiefs wide receivers combined for just 39 receiving yards on 13 targets all night. Tight ends Noah Gray and Travis Kelce each had 44 yards receiving, on three and four catches respectively, while Kenneth Walker had four catches for 21 yards. On the defensive side, Chiefs defenders missed several tackles leading to long gains and first downs for the Seahawks.
After the teams exhanged punts through the first quarter, the Seahawks opened the scoring in the second quarter on a 25 yard field goal from Jason Myers. After Patrick Mahomes threw an interception, attempting a pass to Jalen Royals, Seattle extended their lead as Sam Darnold placed a long pass right were only Jaxon Smith-Njigba could catch it, with cornerback Mansoor Delane covering him, for a 28 yard touchdown. The Chiefs were forced to punt, and on the ensuing drive Nohl Williams picked off Darnold in the endzone, however Harrison Butker missed a 58 yard field goal short to send it to the halftime break with the Seahawks up 10-0.
Each team put together 13 play drives in the third quarter, both ending with field goals. Seattle extended their lead to open the second half on a 35 yard field goal from Myer, and Butker put the only points for the Chiefs on the board with a 50 yard field goal, ending the third quarter with Kansas City down 13-3. The Chiefs forced a punt to open the fourth quarter, but again Butker missed a field goal, from 45 yards out, and the Seahawks took advantage with a 21 yard touchdown run by Emanuel Wilson. Kansas City turned the ball over on downs, and Seattle ran out the remaining clock for the win.
“Listen, all three phases we struggled, so we’ve got to do better, and that’s my responsibility,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said in his postgame press conference. “So I take full responsibility for this. We’ve got to play better as a team.”
Walker entered the night averaging a league-leading 133 yards per game, but in his return to Seattle, the Seahawks shut him down, rushing 14 times for 36 yards. The Super Bowl champion Seahawks have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 36 games, the league’s longest current streak. Mahomes added two rushes for 14 yards.
Through the air, Mahomes was 16-of-33 for 165 yards with an interception. Cyrus Allen led the wide receiver group with one catch for 18 yards while Xavier Worthy had three catches for 11 yards.
The Chiefs (5-1) stay on the road next week and travel to face the Denver Broncos (5-2) on Sunday. Kickoff is at 3:25pm, with pregame at 2pm on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM) and Q Country (92.7 FM). Kansas City opened the season with a 31-10 win over Denver at Arrowhead Stadium.
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