The Seattle Seahawks (3-3) have a must-win game in Week 7 as they host the Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) on Sunday Night Football. This has to be the Seahawks' get -right game, or they will be under .500% past Week 3 for the first time since the 2024 season. One of the biggest things that the Seahawks must fix is their lack of impact from the running game, player utilization and turnovers.
The Seahawks were preparing for veteran running back Zach Charbonnet to return on the field for the first time since tearing his ACL in last season’s Divisional Round over the San Francisco 49ers. He was a full participant in practices, but on Friday, he was ruled out. This comes at horrible timing as the Seahawks are now left with a depleted and talentless backfield before taking on an undefeated team.
Seahawks are Playing with Fire
To go from a full participant in practices to now being out is highly questionable. The only two suggestions are that the Seahawks are putting Charbonnet on the trade block for another running back like the Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor. The other theory is that they are taking one more week for him to fully get in shape and take a huge amount of carries.
This isn’t the time for a 3-3 Seahawks team going into Week 7 to be playing games. If the 2026 NFL Season ended now, the Seahawks would be left out of the playoffs and they still have to host the undefeated Chiefs and then go on the road to take on the Chicago Bears (5-2) for Monday Night Football. There is a real chance that the Seahawks could be 3-5 by the time they head into Week 9.
They’ve rarely taken opportunities to improve their run game. Outside of signing undrafted rookie Robert Henry Jr. off the Washington Commanders practice squad, the front office hasn’t added another valuable running back to the roster. The Seahawks worked out former two-time Pro-Bowler Joe Mixon, but they didn’t like his physical.
Seattle has to be More Urgent Running the Ball
In the first two games of the season, the Seahawks averaged 129.5 rushing yards. They accomplished this by mixing Price with a power back like Wilson and Holani. The Seahawks only averaged 96 yards through the last four games when the turnovers increased and Price was put on IR after Week 3. Seattle put their entire running game on Wilson and Holani, who are both short-yardage running backs with no power or explosiveness.
As a result of the running game being less efficient, the Seahawks have put too much pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold, who has regressed in his turnovers and decision-making. Darnold had 51 passing attempts, escaped several times for runs and was sacked five times. The Seahawks need a reliable run game in some way on Sunday night for a chance at winning.
The Seahawks’ coaching staff seemed scared to utilize new schemes or new players. Wide receiver Rashid Shaheed took a pitch handoff for a 28-yard touchdown in the Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers and he had only one rushing attempt in the losses to the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos. Veteran Velus Jones Jr. is a faster running back, but he only had four carries for 20 yards against the Broncos. Meanwhile, Henry has yet to play a game for the Seahawks.
If the Seahawks want to create a more balanced offense, they need to have their offensive line create more push at the line of scrimmage. They also need to be smart about who gets the carries. This means fewer carries for Wilson and Holani and more for Jones and Henry. The more the Seahawks don’t take their running game issues seriously, the worse the team’s chances for the playoffs get.
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