The Kansas City Chiefs were outmatched in every phase of the game.
They kept it close most of the night, but at no time did you feel like they were the better team on the field. The Seattle Seahawks came out determined to shut down Kenneth Walker III, and did just that. As a result, the Chiefs offense turned into a pumpkin as the Seahawks handed Kansas City their first loss of the season, outscoring Patrick Mahomes and company 20-3.
Here are five things we learned from the Chiefs’ humbling in Washington.
He’s still the best running back in the NFL. But Seattle entered this game with one job in mind: don’t let it become a revenge game. Their No. 1 priority is to shut down Kenneth Walker III.
With Seattle playing so many heavy boxes, you’d think this would open up downfield passing for the Chiefs, but that wasn’t the case.
With Kenneth Walker in charge, the Chiefs didn’t have an answer for how to move the ball down the field.
Walker’s 36 rushing yards were his lowest output of the season, and this game was the worst offensive performance of the Patrick Mahomes era.
2. Harrison Butker looks cooked
I mentioned last week that it doesn’t matter if Harrison Butker can kick 70 yards if he can’t kick it straight. Well, now it appears he can’t kick it 58. Butker missed another field goal from beyond 50 yards, as well as one from 45 yards.
Either he has the yips and it’s temporary, or it marks the beginning of Butker’s physical decline and the end of his best days.
Regardless, the Chiefs can’t keep leaving points on the field, especially in a hard-fought game like this, where points are a premium. If Butker continues to miss these kicks, the Chiefs need to start bringing available kickers to tryouts.
3. The pass rush continues to be a problem
Last week, when the Chiefs played against the Los Angeles Chargers, I wrote that a bad team can make your mediocre pass rush look great. Now I’m writing the flip side of that equation—a great team can make your mediocre pass rush look terrible.
The Chiefs did a good job early in this game to get Seattle into bad downs and distance, but then someone overtook the quarterback, and Sam Darnold pulled the ball and ran for a first down, or found a receiver downfield.
If you can’t get to the quarterback, you have to at least stop him.
4. Leaders need to make a move for a wide receiver at the right time
With Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton both out with injuries, the wide receiver position remains a concern.
Heck, even with Rice back, this receiving group isn’t big enough.
The Chiefs need a legit wide receiver who can give them at least a fraction of what Jaxon Smith-Njigba offers the Seahawks. Even if it’s only half of what he’s offering, it’s light-years better than what we have now.
We need a wide receiver that can get open, not one that we can open the scheme with.
5. Spags’ game plan is flawed
The Seahawks picked off cornerback L’Jarius Sneed early in this game—moving Jaxon Smith-Njigba around until he found himself lined up across from Sneed. Smith-Njigba then dismantled Sneed on several consecutive snaps. Now listen, Smith-Njigba is the best receiver in the NFL. He made two impressive plays against Manoor Delane, including one of the better touchdown catches of the season.
My question is: if Smith-Njigba is usually their offensive weapon, why not bracket him from the start?
Second, if you’re not going to double-team him, why not shadow him with your best cornerback?
I love Sneed, but like Chris Jones, at this point in his career, he just isn’t the same guy he used to be.