Seattle Seahawks
Kansas City ChiefsEight months ago Kenneth Walker III was the Super Bowl LX MVP, carrying the Seattle Seahawks to the title. Now he leads the NFL in rushing for the Kansas City Chiefs, and on Sunday, October 25, he walks back into Lumen Field for Chiefs vs Seahawks on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET, 12:20 a.m. Monday in the UK). It's the best game of Week 7: the unbeaten Chiefs (4-0) against the defending champs (3-2). NBC is billing it as a matchup of teams that have won three of the last four Super Bowls, which is a little like saying "a lot of rings in one building," but fair enough.
How they got here
Kansas City's start is about as good as Andy Reid could have hoped for after a 6-11 season. Patrick Mahomes came back from his torn ACL in the opener, a 31-10 rout of Denver. The Chiefs followed with a 33-30 overtime win over Indianapolis, a 24-10 win in Miami and a 30-27 win in Las Vegas before their Week 5 bye. They're the only AFC West team without a loss, and they host the Chargers on October 18 before flying west.
Seattle opened its title defense by beating New England 13-10 in the Super Bowl LX rematch, then beat Arizona 31-7 and the Chargers 30-23 either side of a 33-31 loss in Washington. The most recent one hurt: a 32-29 home loss to San Francisco with four Seattle turnovers. Mike Macdonald's response was short. "We're not panicking." His team started 3-2 last year too, then won 11 of its last 12. The Seahawks visit Denver on October 15 before this one.
Walker against the defense that knows him best
Walker signed with Kansas City as a free agent and has carried the offense: 537 yards on 87 carries through four games, including 177 yards and two touchdowns in Las Vegas. NBC Sports pointed out he had more rushing yards in four games than Seattle had as a team in five. Ouch.
Seattle's front has seen every one of his cuts in practice. Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II will try to win at the line, and DeMarcus Lawrence sets the edge. If they push Kansas City into third-and-long, the game tilts toward the home side. If Walker finds the creases he found in September, Mahomes gets the play-action looks he loves.
Mahomes vs Macdonald's disguises
Macdonald made his name with defenses that show one look and play another, and his secondary is built for it. Devon Witherspoon can blitz from the slot or carry a receiver, and second-year safety Nick Emmanwori is a big, rangy chess piece. Josh Jobe and Trevon Diggs round out the corners.
Mahomes has been efficient more than spectacular, with 225 yards and two touchdowns in Las Vegas while Walker did the heavy lifting. Travis Kelce is back for another season, and Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice give him speed outside. Keep an eye on Rice's status in the final injury report. Lumen Field noise is the real unknown for a line led by Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith.
Can Darnold hang on to the ball?
Seattle's passing game runs through Jaxon Smith-Njigba, with Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed alongside him. The worry is turnovers. Against the 49ers, Sam Darnold went 18 of 29 for 195 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and five sacks, and the coaches spent the following week on ball security.
Steve Spagnuolo will test whether it took. Chris Jones and George Karlaftis lead the rush. The secondary has been rebuilt, with L'Jarius Sneed back in red after his Tennessee spell and No. 6 overall pick Mansoor Delane, who arrived after Trent McDuffie was traded to the Rams. If Darnold holds the ball, those blitzes will find him.
Both play-callers are new this year, by the way. Eric Bieniemy is back as Kansas City's offensive coordinator, the job he held from 2018 to 2022, and his offense has leaned hard on the run to protect a quarterback coming off knee surgery. Seattle lost Klint Kubiak to the Las Vegas head job and promoted Brian Fleury, who worked with Darnold in San Francisco in 2023. Expect Reid and Bieniemy to test Seattle's discipline with motion and Walker on early downs, while Macdonald, assistant head coach Leslie Frazier and defensive coordinator Aden Durde try to make Mahomes win it with his arm. The two teams tied 9-9 at Arrowhead in the preseason, which tells us almost nothing.
Our Chiefs vs Seahawks pick
This is the best defense Kansas City has seen, at night, in one of the loudest stadiums in the league. Seattle's turnovers bother me, but that pass rush can make Mahomes uncomfortable. Still, the Chiefs' running game travels, and I suspect Walker wants this one more than any game on his schedule. Chiefs 24, Seahawks 21.
Projected starters for Kansas City: QB Patrick Mahomes; RB Kenneth Walker III; TE Travis Kelce; WR Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice; OL Josh Simmons, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith; DL Chris Jones, George Karlaftis; LB Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill; DB L'Jarius Sneed, Kristian Fulton, Mansoor Delane, Alohi Gilman.
For Seattle: QB Sam Darnold; RB Emanuel Wilson, Jadarian Price; WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed; OL Charles Cross, Olu Oluwatimi; DL Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, DeMarcus Lawrence; DB Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Nick Emmanwori. The Friday injury report will settle the rest.
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ESPN 2 NetherlandsWatching on Sunday night
NBC has it in the US with Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark, and Peacock streams every NBC NFL game. NBC lists this as a flex-eligible week, so confirm the slot a few days out. You can also watch Chiefs vs Seahawks free in HD, no account needed, on DAMITV's NFL streams hub, and the Kansas City Chiefs page lists every Chiefs game. Spanish speakers can use NFL en vivo. The NFC East takes over the next night in our Cowboys at Eagles preview. For injury updates and the betting line, see ESPN's game page.
