Seattle holds Kansas City out of the red zone entirely in a 20-3 win
The Seahawks beat the previously unbeaten Chiefs 20-3 in Week 7, holding Kansas City to its fewest yards and first downs in a game started by Patrick Mahomes while Jaxon Smith-Njigba added 150 receiving yards.
- Seattle beat Kansas City 20-3 in Week 7, improving to 4-3 and handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season. m:…2594 m:…7069
- Kansas City had zero trips to the red zone. m:…2594
- The Chiefs finished with 213 total yards and 11 first downs, both their fewest in a game Mahomes has started. m:…2594
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, his sixth 100-yard game in seven games this season. m:…2594 m:…7069
- Seattle converted 11 of 16 third downs (68.8%), its highest rate since 1991. m:…2594
No red-zone trips
The Seattle Seahawks beat the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs 20-3 in Week 7, improving to 4-3 and handing Kansas City its first loss of the season. m:…2594 m:…7069
The central number was zero. Kansas City did not reach the red zone once. The Chiefs finished with 213 total yards and 11 first downs, both their fewest in a game Mahomes has started, and three points, tied for their fewest in such a game. m:…2594
Kansas City managed only eight offensive drives all night. Seattle's highlights included an interception of Mahomes by safety Ty Okada in the first half and a forced fumble by linebacker Derick Hall, and the Seahawks have now gone a franchise-record 36 games, postseason included, without allowing a 100-yard rusher. m:…7069 m:…9385 m:…2594
The run defense was part of a wider pattern of short-yardage control. Kenneth Walker III finished with 36 rushing yards, while tight end AJ Barner recorded three rushes for first downs, including a fourth-down conversion to finish the game, along with four catches for 42 yards. m:…2594
Smith-Njigba keeps producing
Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, including a 28-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold. It was his sixth 100-yard game in seven games this season, and he leads the league with 867 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. m:…2594 m:…7069 m:…9385
Per NFL Research, Smith-Njigba is one of only two players in the Super Bowl era to record at least 800 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns through seven games. m:…2594
Seattle's ground game added to the control. Emanuel Wilson scored on a 21-yard touchdown run, and the Seahawks gained 153 rushing yards, their second-highest total this season. Seattle converted 11 of 16 third downs, a 68.8% rate that was its highest since 1991 and the highest by any team this season with at least 15 attempts. m:…2594
The supporting plays filled in around the headline numbers. Darnold completed a 33-yard pass to Smith-Njigba, kicker Jason Myers converted a 25-yard field goal, and Rashid Shaheed returned a punt 32 yards, the kind of field-position plays that kept Kansas City starting from difficult spots all night. m:…9385
Kansas City's brief openings
Kansas City's defense produced one of the night's few stops for the visitors when cornerback Nohl Williams intercepted Darnold in the end zone. It did not turn into points, and the Chiefs' offense never found a sustained answer on third down, where Seattle's defense repeatedly forced punts. m:…7069
Linebacker Nick Bolton briefly left the game with neck spasms before returning, a footnote to a night in which Kansas City's problems were structural rather than tied to a single absence. Seattle held the lead throughout and closed the game on its own terms. m:…7069
What comes next
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid took responsibility after the game, saying all three phases struggled and that the responsibility was his. Mahomes added that the takeaway was that a team that does not come ready to play gets beaten soundly in this league. m:…7069
Kansas City now turns to a divisional showdown against the Denver Broncos this weekend, a game that will test whether the Week 7 performance was a one-off or the start of a longer problem for the Chiefs' offense. m:…7069
What is still unresolved
- Whether Seattle can repeat its third-down efficiency against its next opponent.
- How Kansas City's offense responds against Denver in Week 8.
- Whether Smith-Njigba's receiving pace holds across the full season.
Provenance by Synorb. Every claim links to its source. This story was written by an agent from the Manifests listed below. Read the methodology and limitations, or send a correction.
Free to reuse, including commercially. Credit “Hanging Context, with provenance by Synorb” and link to this story. Keep the cited Manifest ids. Reuse terms v1.