Can Seahawks Be Kenneth Walker's Kryptonite? Why Sunday Could Flip Narrative On Chiefs RB

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III is balling out for his new team, and that’s no surprise to Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV. Jones observed Walker’s unique skill set up close, as the Memphis native put the Seattle offense on his back to lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory just eight months ago, earning MVP honors. However, Seattle decided not to use the franchise tag and lost Walker to the Chiefs in free agency. Walker now leads the league in rushing and has rejuvenated Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense, pushing them to a 5-0 record, while the Seahawks are scuffling at 3-3. The two teams face off in a nationally televised game at Lumen Field on Sunday, and Jones is tasked with trying to shut down his former teammate. "We’ve got our hands full," Jones told me. "He’s playing at a really high level — an Offensive Player of the Year type level. We just want to go out there and stop him. Keeping him to a minimum of yards would be a best-case scenario with a guy like him." Walker leads the league in rushing with 665 yards in just five games, and that's with the Chiefs already having their bye week. The Seahawks, meanwhile, have 643 rushing yards as a team in six games, causing many to second-guess their decision to let Walker leave as he signed a three-year, $43.05 million contract to join the Chiefs in March. Walker has rushed for over 100 yards in four of his five games this season, but Seattle has not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Week 8 of the 2024 season, when James Cook of the Buffalo Bills ran for 111 yards. That’s a streak of 35 straight games. Jones has been Seattle’s green-dot, defensive play caller for all that stretch and says he takes pride in that mark. "It only probably means something to me," Jones told me. "Just being in the middle of that defense, I’m pretty sure I think about it more than any of the other guys." In his third year in head coach Mike Macdonald’s system, Jones told me he’s the most comfortable playing inside linebacker as a pro. And it shows. Jones is second in the league in combined tackles with 59, including three tackles for loss. He also has three sacks, an interception and three pass deflections. The Seahawks lead the NFL in total yards allowed per game (237) and they’re tied for the top spot in takeaways (11). Jones said his defense will have to use those playmaking attributes to contain one of the most elusive runners in the league in Walker. "It’s rallying to the football, staying disciplined and just tackling," Jones told me. "You’ve got to tackle well. You can’t give him an opportunity to continue to make people miss, because he’s dynamic at doing that. He’s a really, really good back." Seahawks general manager John Schneider decided to let Walker hit free agency in part because of his injury history. Walker, who the Seahawks took in the second round of the 2022 draft, struggled at times to stay on the field, playing all 17 games in just one season in four years with the team. Schneider views the running back position as fungible and replaceable. The Seahawks have only signed three running backs to second contracts during Schneider’s era: Marshawn Lynch, Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny. Lynch was the only one of the three who proved a good return on the investment. Schneider used the salary cap space he saved by not signing Walker to re-sign receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed to a three-year, $51.7 million extension. And while Shaheed has not produced at a similar level to Walker, the Seahawks also gave up fourth- and fifth-round picks to secure his services in a trade, so it made sense to try and keep the San Diego native considering the draft compensation used and Shaheed’s versatility. However, Schneider’s plan to replace Walker’s production with a running-back-by-committee approach has not worked. The Seahawks drafted Jadarian Price in the first round to serve as the team’s workhorse back while Zach Charbonnet worked his way back from an ACL tear he suffered last postseason. Price is on the injured reserve with a chest injury and struggled to hold onto the football when healthy, fumbling the ball twice over three games. Seattle could be getting some reinforcements back with Charbonnet a full participant at practice this week for the first time since he was injured during the playoffs. Jones said whether it’s Charbonnet or the current running back group (which features Emanuel Wilson, George Holani and Velus Jones Jr.), it’s about execution. "The running game as a whole is more than having a guy back there," Jones told me. "Guys have to work together in making that thing go forward. And I think that’s what we’re striving to continue to do. We’ve seen our offense do it at a high level before, so I think that’s what they’re searching for, just hitting the right targets. And I believe they are going to do that." Sam Darnold struggled this season without Walker and a dynamic running game to lean on, throwing seven interceptions in four games since returning from a glute injury. However, the USC product went through a similar stretch last season, including a four-interception performance in a close loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where Jones vehemently defended his quarterback in comments to reporters afterwards. This season, Jones believes Darnold will rebound again, needing more time on task with new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury to get more connected within the offense. "It’s the reps," Jones told me. "He did miss a game or two. That’s a hard position back there. I cannot sit up here and say I would do anything different. I know the type of guy Sam is and the work he puts in. I know he cares, so if anybody can turn this thing around and fix the problems that they’re having, it’s him." The margins of the Seahawks' losses have been thin. They've only been outscored by a total of eight points in their three losses. But Jones thinks two specific areas have led to Seattle's so-so start this year: its struggles defensively in the red zone (30th in the NFL) and taking care of the football (12 giveaways, tied for the third-most). "We’ve just got to work on the things that are hurting us right now, which is red zone defense and ball security," Jones said. "We’re not taking care of it and we’re not stopping people from scoring. I think if you do those things at least one more time in each of those losses, then you’re sitting here with a completely different story. So, I just think capitalizing on those moments and not hurting ourselves is the biggest thing right now." The NFL’s Dream Team has shown some cracks in the foundation under head coach Sean McVay after starting the season 2-4. Running back Kyren Williams complained about not being on the field enough after his team’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Williams is sharing carries with Blake Corum, but the Pro Bowler is outpacing the Michigan product in rushing yards (393-223) and carries (80-47) through six games. However, the tone-setting running back said he just wants to help make a significant impact for an underperforming offense. "No matter what, we’ve got to continue to have that energy," Williams said after the game. "When plays are made, be excited and be happy so that we can uplift not only the offense, but the defense and special teams. Being able to have that camaraderie and being able to play off one another – that’s going to allow us to be where we want to be." The team’s best player on offense, Puka Nacua, also didn’t mince words when asked how the team can get out of its current funk — they need to play more physical. "I think the physicality is something we’re not going to shy away from and is a big part of who we are," Nacua said. "I think that physicality, with an awareness of what’s going on and what the defense is presenting us so we can use our physicality as a strength." Bottom line: The Rams need to get back to running the football. Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford leads the league in passing yards (1,794) and completions (164), but he also has the most passing attempts (249) in the NFL. That’s not a recipe for success for a 38-year-old quarterback playing on a team dealing with a rash of significant injuries. Rams head coach Sean McVay announced this week that defensive tackle Poona Ford (torn triceps) is out for the year, Davante Adams (hamstring tear) will be out six to 10 weeks, defensive tackle Kobie Turner (groin) will go on the injured reserve and recent addition kicker Blake Grupe is out for the year with a torn ACL in his right knee. Cornerback Trent McDuffie likely remains out this week with a groin issue, and edge rusher Myles Garrett will miss his sixth game as he recovers from a knee issue. And tight end Terance Ferguson has missed three games with an ankle injury. McVay’s offense operates best when he effectively runs the football because it activates the play-action game. But McVay also sometimes loses sight of running the football during the game, especially when his team is chasing points. The Rams have run the ball just 36% of the time this season, compared to 43% in 2025. Los Angeles is averaging 113 rushing yards a game this season, compared to 127 rushing yards a contest last year. In 2025, Stafford led the league with 1,779 passing yards on play-action passes, with 19 touchdowns and just one interception. This year, Stafford is 11th in play-action passing yards (421), with two touchdowns and two interceptions. "I would like to be more balanced, no question about it," McVay said this week. "Ultimately, what I care about and what we care about is what’s the best way to move the ball and score points. Because of some of the situations that we’ve been in, those two-minute situations have gotten us a little bit out of balance. "No matter how I cut it, it’s an excuse. I’d like to be able to have a little bit more balance and that’s reflected by being efficient on early downs and sustaining drives." Los Angeles Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak wants to run the football. Just look at the Seattle Seahawks when he was there last season, who leaned on the electric play of Walker in the postseason to win the Super Bowl. Kubiak has a first-round running back in Ashton Jeanty, selected No. 6 overall in last year’s draft. But the Raiders have been unable to get consistent production from Jeanty in Kubiak’s zone running scheme. Jeanty’s got 313 yards on 98 carries, averaging a pedestrian 3.2 yards per carry. He’s showing toughness by playing through ankle and foot injuries, though. Meanwhile, Mike Washington Jr., a fourth-round rookie out of Arkansas, has 168 yards on 34 carries for a robust 4.9 yards per carry. Washington is a big back at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, compared to the 5-8, 208-pound Jeanty. And Jeanty’s carries have steadily declined from a season-high 23 carries to start the year to back-to-back season lows of 10 carries each of the last two games. Jeanty had just 22 yards against the Bills. Jeanty is the only running back with at least 50 carries to be stuffed for a loss or no gain on more than a quarter of his carries this season (26.5%), according to Next Gen Stats. Washington rushed for a game-high 43 yards on nine carries in the Raiders’ loss to the Buffalo Bills last week. Washington appears to be a better fit for Kubiak’s one-cut, zone running scheme because of his downhill running style and could be in store for a heavier workload moving forward. 5. Arizona Cardinals The Battle of L.A. has been won by …. the Cardinals? Arizona is 2-0 against both LA teams at SoFi Stadium, and the LaFleur brothers (Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur) are now 6-0 over McVay. 4. Seattle Seahawks Seattle hosts Kansas City for the first of three straight home games at Lumen Field. The Seahawks need to do a better job of keeping Darnold clean. He’s been hit a league-high 22% of the time when pressured. Darnold has been pressured on 42.3% of his dropbacks this season, per Next Gen Stats. 3. Denver Broncos Broncos head coach Sean Payton says he’s sticking with Bo Nix as the team’s starter moving forward. And the Oregon product faces the Cardinals on the road. Nix is 11-2 vs. NFC teams with 3,007 passing yards and 28 total touchdowns (22 passing, 6 rushing). 2. Kansas City Chiefs With 760 scrimmage yards and eight scrimmage touchdowns, Walker is the sixth player in league history with at least 750 scrimmage yards and eight scrimmage touchdowns in his first five games of a season, joining Jim Brown (1958 and 1963), Eric Dickerson (1983), Marshall Faulk (2000), Emmitt Smith (1995) and Priest Holmes (2002). 1. San Francisco 49ers San Francisco is rolling, but the latest injury at receiver to Mike Evans could limit Brock Purdy’s ability to push the ball down the field. Six receivers projected to help the 49ers at the start of the year are now potentially unavailable this week due to injuries in Ricky Pearsall (knee), Christian Kirk (calf), De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle), Demarcus Robinson (ankle), Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and Evans (Achilles). "0-6 does not give the privilege to rule out anything at this point. And we’re looking into everything." — Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh when asked if he would make a change during the bye week at offensive coordinator with Mike McDaniel. Harbaugh said the Bolts will work this week to simplify the offense for Justin Herbert.