It’s Week 7, and the championship defense of the Seattle Seahawks is not going as many fans had hoped.
A turnover plagued offense has allowed opponents to put easy points on the board, and the result is a 3-3 record that would have Mike Macdonald and his team watching the playoffs from home if the season ended today. Luckily, however, there is plenty of season left to right the ship, with the first opportunity to do so Sunday against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.
Joining Field Gulls to preview the primetime showdown is Maurice Elston of Arrowhead Pride, and here are the answers provided to the questions posed this week.
1. Kenneth Walker has been phenomenal so far this season. How has Andy Reid taken advantage of Walker’s skills to rely less on Patrick Mahomes as Mahomes works his way back from the knee injury he suffered late last season?
It may feel like Andy Reid has completely transformed the Chiefs into a run-first offense, but the numbers say the change has been more subtle. Kansas City ran the ball on 40.5% of its offensive plays last season, compared with approximately 43.5% this year. The Chiefs have increased their rushing attempts from 25.3 to roughly 29 per game, but that is not an overwhelming difference.
The results are where you see Kenneth Walker III’s impact. Kansas City averaged 4.2 yards per rushing attempt last season, but even that number was boosted significantly by Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes gained 422 yards on 64 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. The Chiefs’ running backs combined for only 1,247 yards on 336 carries—approximately 3.7 yards per attempt. Without Mahomes’ rushing production, Kansas City averaged only 3.8 yards per carry as a team.
Walker is now averaging 6.3 yards per attempt with 665 rushing yards through five games. So while Reid is calling slightly more running plays, the dramatic difference is that the Chiefs now have a running back producing at an elite level. Mahomes no longer has to scramble to provide the offense’s most efficient rushing plays.
The biggest schematic adjustment Reid has made is putting Mahomes under center more frequently. Before Walker arrived, many of Kansas City’s runs came from shotgun or pistol formations. Reid saw how successful Walker was taking handoffs from under center in Seattle and incorporated more of those concepts into the Chiefs’ offense.
That change has created a legitimate play-action passing game. Defenses must respect Walker, which slows down the pass rush and gives Mahomes more time to operate. Reid can also move Mahomes outside the pocket off play action, simplifying his reads and protecting his knee. More than simply calling additional runs, the improved efficiency, timing of those calls and formations Kansas City is using have relieved pressure on Mahomes.
2. Kansas City has steamrolled its opponents so far this season, but it has had the benefit of playing a relatively weak schedule thus far. The Chiefs are obviously a high-level team, but is there any concern that a change in strength of schedule could lead to more than just speed bumps in the coming weeks and months?
I don’t believe Kansas City’s schedule looked nearly as weak before the season as people are making it sound now. Yes, the upcoming schedule is considerably more difficult, but many people probably would have predicted the Chiefs to be 2-3 or 3-2 through their first five games.
Denver won the AFC West last season and reached the AFC Championship Game. The Chargers swept Kansas City last year and entered this season as one of the popular picks to win the division. Nobody expected Los Angeles to begin this season 0-6.
The Raiders were undefeated when the Chiefs traveled to Las Vegas, and they pushed Kansas City to the final possession. Indianapolis took the Chiefs to overtime. Miami was probably the only opponent most people viewed as a game Kansas City should clearly win.
It is fair to point out that some of those teams have struggled since playing the Chiefs, but Kansas City still had to beat them. Now the schedule becomes much harder, beginning with the defending Super Bowl champions in Seattle. Six of the Chiefs’ next eight games are on the road, and seven of their remaining opponents made the playoffs last season.
That stretch will present challenges, but Kansas City is accustomed to playing a first-place schedule. This team has spent most of the Mahomes era receiving every opponent’s best effort. There will be speed bumps, but I’m not overly concerned about the schedule becoming something the Chiefs cannot handle.
3. Seahawks fans are familiar with the big names on the Chiefs’ roster. Who is someone whose name Seattle fans may not recognize on each side of the ball who could have an impact on the outcome Sunday night?
On offense, I would go with left guard Kingsley Suamataia. That may sound strange because people normally expect a skill-position player when discussing someone under the radar, but Suamataia has quietly been one of Kansas City’s most consistent offensive players this season.
When people discuss the Chiefs’ offensive line, Trey Smith and Creed Humphrey are usually the first names mentioned. Kahlil Benson receives attention because he is an undrafted rookie filling in for a former first-round pick at left tackle. Right tackle is always closely examined because of the questions Kansas City has had at that position.
Suamataia, however, has become a dominant force at left guard. Before Kansas City’s fourth game, he had allowed pressure on only 3.8% of his pass-blocking opportunities, the lowest rate among starting left guards. Against the Chargers, he didn’t surrender a pressure over 31 pass-blocking snaps and earned a 90.3 run-blocking grade. The Chiefs consistently run behind him, and Walker has regularly found success on that side.
On defense, I would watch rookie edge rusher R Mason Thomas. His traditional statistics may not jump off the page yet, but his natural pass-rushing ability is obvious. He generated five pressures against the Chargers, and his role continues to grow within Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
Sam Darnold is not the most mobile quarterback Kansas City will face, so Thomas’ speed off the edge could become a major factor if the Chiefs force Seattle into obvious passing situations.
4. Walker’s performance this season has come despite several injuries to expected starters on the Kansas City offensive line, and yet from the outside, it appears neither Walker nor the offense has missed a beat. Who should Seattle fans expect to see on the line for the Chiefs, and how well will the group perform against a defensive front that may be the toughest they have faced to this point in 2026?
Seattle fans should expect Kahlil Benson at left tackle, Kingsley Suamataia at left guard, Creed Humphrey at center and Trey Smith at right guard. Right tackle remains the biggest question.
Jaylon Moore left last week’s game with a concussion and has not practiced this week. If he does not clear the concussion protocol, Joshua Ezeudu could start after replacing him and playing 30 snaps against the Chargers. Ezeudu allowed one pressure but otherwise performed well in his first offensive action for Kansas City.
Josh Simmons has officially been placed on injured reserve after his rehabilitation from a back injury plateaued, so the Chiefs will have Benson protecting Mahomes’ blind side for at least four more games. Benson has started all five games, but he remains an undrafted rookie preparing to face arguably the best defensive front Kansas City has seen this season.
That must be a concern for the Chiefs. If Seattle creates an early lead and forces Kansas City into predictable passing situations, its defensive line could take over the game.
The equalizer is Walker. Kansas City has dealt with injured tackles and dominant defensive fronts before, but it has not previously faced those circumstances with a running game this explosive. Handing the ball to Walker, remaining committed to the run and using play action can slow Seattle’s pass rush and prevent that defensive front from attacking Mahomes on every snap.
5. What is your prediction for the outcome of the game and why?
I have the Chiefs winning 24-17.
I do not expect Kansas City to enter Seattle and dominate the defending Super Bowl champions. This should be a physical battle between two excellent defenses, and I expect it to remain close deep into the fourth quarter.
Whenever I predict a close game, the deciding factor is usually which team has the better quarterback. Nobody in Seattle, Kansas City or anywhere else in the NFL would argue that Sam Darnold is better than Patrick Mahomes.
Darnold made significant progress over the previous two seasons, but he has taken a step backward since returning from his early-season injury. He has seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, including four interceptions during Seattle’s current two-game losing streak.
Zach Charbonnet’s potential return should help Seattle, but this would be his first game since suffering a torn ACL during last season’s playoffs. It is difficult to expect him to immediately carry the offense against Kansas City’s defense.
If the game is close in the fourth quarter, I trust Mahomes to make the plays necessary to carry the Chiefs to a victory. I do not have that same confidence in Darnold.
Chiefs 24, Seahawks 17.
And now it’s on to the Saturday afternoon roster tweaking ahead of the game.