By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

How Seahawks’ Fast Start and Defense Handed Chiefs First 2026 Loss

The Seattle Seahawks played their most complete game of the season in their 20-3 demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs. While not completely flawless, the Seahawks played one of their best first halves of the season.  The Seahawks have had horrendous starts in their last two home games, and quarterback Sam Darnold has thrown an interception in each.

  That streak is now up to three consecutive home games in which  Darnold has thrown an interception. When Darnold threw his only interception on Sunday, the Seahawks offense was humming, and the interception had minimal impact. While he was proud and impressed with his team’s effort, head coach Mike Macdonald saw plenty of room for improvement.

“ The message this week really was trying to double down on 12 as One, trying to stack plays, finding plays, all three phases picking each other up, which I think the guys did a great job just kind of doubling down on our core philosophy. It was a great environment. Shout out to the 12s. Just really proud of our team to stand steadfast in some adversity,’ said Macdonald.

“ That’s what we do: we find solutions, and we moved forward, have each other’s backs. It was great to see that come to light today. With that said, there’s so much more opportunity for us to improve, which is exciting. It’s still within our control. Just some procedural things. Red zone. You guys know the things. It’s a great opportunity for us to move forward and get better. But I’m really proud of our team. Really proud of the attitude. People are great teammates, have each other’s backs, and push each other. I think we got better. It’s a great opportunity. There’s a sense of urgency now to really take another step as a football team. It will be fun the next couple of days. We’ll get to work on Chicago. “

FAST START MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

The Seahawks first offensive drive looked promising when Darnold moved the offense from the Seahawks’ 14-yard line to the  Seattle 43-yard line after two third-down conversions.  A Darnold-to-Smith-Njigba completion moved the chains on third and 5 at the Seahawks’ own 19-yard line. The completion gained nine yards.  A direct snap to AJ Barner on third-and-one at the 37-yard line continued the drive, with the big tight end gaining two yards. The drive stalled  on Darnold incomplete on third and seven.  The Seahawks defense forced a  Chiefs punt which gave the ball back to  Darnold and the offense.

LONG AND SUSTAINED DRIVE

On the ensuing drive, Darnold and the offense continued to the theme of executing third down.  In the 15-play, 86-yard drive that ate up  8:26 seconds and ended with a Jaso Meyers 25-yard field goal, the offense converted three of four third downs.  The Seahawks shut down another Chiefs drive with relentless pressure on  Patrick Mahomes and disciplined run defense. Nick Emmanwori led the Seahawks’ pass rush, and his pressure forced Mahomes out of the pocket and to throw to Ty Okada at the Seahawks’ 46-yard line.

ANOTHER SUSTAINED DRIVE BY THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS

A sharp and focused Darnold engineered the Seahawks’ second scoring drive with more crucial third-down conversions. On third and six and the Chiefs’ 36-yard line, Darnold scrambled to his right, then made a half-circle turn to his left and scrambled for seven yards to move the chains.  Two plays later, on third and nine from the Chiefs’ 28-yard line, Darnold threw a perfect bucket pass into the arms of a sprinting Smith-Njigba for the 28-yard touchdown. After a review, the play was ruled a touchdown after being initially called a catch at the two-yard line.

“Man, I just saw execution. It starts with the guys up front. They played a helluva game keeping Sam clean, and then Sam making the right reads. Like I said, tucking it when he had to, and us receivers, we understand we need to stay on the field, “ said Smith- Njigba on the team’s high third-down conversion rate. That’s how you beat great teams, by staying on the field. We did that tonight. We executed, and it felt good.” The Seahawks converted five of nine third downs in the first half.

WASTED OPPORTUNITY

The Seahawks defense kept hunting Mahomes, and the pressure bothered him, throwing off his timing. The Chiefs went three-and-out on their next drive, giving the ball to the Seahawks.  Rashid Shaheed returned the punt 32 yards to the Seattle 36-yard line with 1:36 left in the half.  Another Darnold-to-Smith-to-Njigba pass play moved the ball 21 yards downfield.  That pass play was followed by a Darnold-to-Kupp completion for nine yards.

The promising drive came to a calamitous end when Darnold’s pass intended for Shaheed in the endzone was intercepted by the Chiefs’ Nohl Williams, who returned it 65 yards to the Seahawks’ 44-yard line. With seven seconds left in the half, Walker ran the ball for a four-yard gain, leaving seven seconds remaining.  Harrison Butker’s 58-yard field goal was wide right, and the Seahawks escaped the transgression unharmed as the half ended with Seattle clinging to a 10-3 lead.

CONTINUED MOMENTUM

Despite the turnover, the Seahawks offense started on the front foot, converting two of three third-down opportunities and extending their lead to 13-0 on a 35-yard field goal by Jason Myers.

“ We got to stay out of the third-and-longs. That’s another thing, too; there’s so much to get better at – even with the win. We’re going to take a look at that, see how we can better stay out of those third-and-long situations. Again, our guys did a really good job of executing,” said  Darnold. ”Our coaches did a really good job throughout the week of putting the plan together and putting us in a good position out there.”

The Chiefs scored their only points of the game on their opening drive of the second half.  Butker booted a 50-yard field goal on fourth down after Derrick Hall sacked Mahomes on third down and forced a fumble that the Chiefs recovered.

SEATTLE OFFENSE SPURTERS AND CHIEFS UNABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE


Seattle had its worst drive of the game on its ensuing possession and punted back to the Chiefs after a three-and-out. The Chiefs looked poised to make a game on their next drive. The Chiefs converted their first two third-down opportunities but failed on third and three at the Seahawks’ 27-yard line. Under relentless pressure from Leonard Williams, Mahomes’ intended target, Cyrus Allen, was short, and the Chiefs opted to kick a field goal on fourth.  Butker’s 45-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. Giving the ball back to the Seahawks on their own 35-yard line

GAME CLINCHING DRIVE

With 8:33 left, the Seahawks marched down the field on a nine-play, 65-yard drive capped by a 21-yard TD run by Emanuel Wilson. The drive consumed 4:46 of clock time. Jason Myers’ extra point extended the Seahawks’ lead to 20-3.  Mahomes threw four consecutive incomplete passes on the Chiefs’ next possession, giving the ball back to the Seahawks, who ran out the clock to improve their record to 4-3 as the Chiefs suffered their first loss of the season.

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