The Seattle Seahawks answered a two-game skid with a dominant 20-3 Sunday night win over the Kansas City Chiefs, holding Patrick Mahomes and former Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III out of the end zone while Jaxon Smith-Njigba delivered another record-level performance.
Seattle’s defense limited Kansas City to 213 total yards and never allowed the Chiefs into the red zone, an unprecedented result in a Mahomes start. The victory returned Mike Macdonald’s team to the formula that has defined its best football: disruptive defense, efficient offense and a receiver defenses have been unable to contain.
Seattle defense shuts down Mahomes and Walker
- The Seahawks held the Chiefs to three field-goal points, the second complete game of Mahomes’ career in which Kansas City failed to score a touchdown. The other came in a 24-9 loss to Denver in Week 8 of the 2023 season.
- Kansas City managed 11 first downs, converted only 3 of 11 third-down attempts and averaged 4.3 yards per snap.
- Mahomes finished 19-for-33 for 165 yards with one interception as Seattle repeatedly disrupted the pocket and denied explosive plays.
- Walker, now with Kansas City after signing there during the offseason, was limited to 36 yards on 14 carries in his return to Seattle. He had entered the game averaging 133.0 rushing yards per contest.
- The performance ended Walker’s 11-game streak, including postseason games, of rushing for at least 50 yards.
Safety Nick Emmanwori said the Seahawks made containing Walker a central objective.
“We put on a clinic,” Emmanwori said after the win.
He added that the defense was determined to keep Walker below the century mark. “That was my motivation,” Emmanwori said. “I know a lot of the guys on the defense, that was their motivation, too, to stop him under 100 and play lights out on defense. I think we did that.”
Walker left the field without exchanging handshakes with his former teammates, later explaining that frustration over the loss was behind his reaction.
“We lost,” Walker said. “I was frustrated. That’s about it. I saw them over there celebrating and that’s about it.”
Emmanwori provides pressure and coverage
Emmanwori’s impact went beyond the run defense. In coverage, he allowed two catches for 26 yards on seven targets and forced five incompletions, the highest total of his career in a game.
He also recorded two pressures on 10 pass-rush opportunities. One second-quarter pressure helped force Mahomes into the interception. Emmanwori now leads all defensive backs with 12 pressures this season.
Smith-Njigba keeps building historic pace
While Seattle’s defense controlled the night, Smith-Njigba again punished the Chiefs’ secondary. He caught nine passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, continuing a season that has placed him among rare company.
Smith-Njigba has posted at least 100 receiving yards in six of Seattle’s first seven games. In the Super Bowl era, only Michael Irvin in 1995, Marvin Harrison Sr. in 2000 and Adam Thielen in 2018 had matched that mark through their teams’ opening seven games.
Emmanwori said Smith-Njigba is thriving despite the attention he receives from opposing defenses.
“He’s unguardable,” Emmanwori said. “It’s pretty amazing to see. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Wow, this is a potential Hall of Famer.’ He’s a great receiver. Knowing that he’s getting double-teamed and they’re sending cloud coverages his way, and he’s still making plays, it’s crazy. You can’t even fathom it. Big ups to him. He’s one of one.”
Smith-Njigba is averaging 123.86 receiving yards per game, a pace that would carry him beyond Calvin Johnson’s NFL single-season receiving record of 1,964 yards, set in 2012.
