As the Seattle Seahawks prepare to face former teammate Kenneth Walker III, they will have to wait for help with their own running game.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet was questionable to play for the first time this season Sunday when Seattle hosts the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. He participated in a full practice Wednesday and was placed on the active roster Thursday, but he was ruled out on Friday.
His return would have been welcome for the Seahawks, who are coming off a 17-14 loss to the Denver Broncos last Thursday night. It was the third loss this season for the defending Super Bowl champions.
The Seahawks' run game has struggled for much of the season and they could use Charbonnet, who tore his ACL in January and spent the first six games of the season on the physically unable to perform list.
"We're going along with the plan. Plan was to get a great week's worth of work and see where we're at. We're going to take it into next week," Seattle Coach Mike Macdonald said. "It's part of the plan. Zach's doing great and we'll go into next week and see how it goes."
Seattle is ranked 18th in the league with an average of 107.2 rusing yards this season. They have five rushing touchdowns. Rookie running back Jadarian Price, who was expected to help, is out with a chest/shoulder injury.
Charbonnet rushed for 730 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Seahawks last season before he was injured.
Of course, one of the reasons why Seattle's run game has dipped this season is the loss of Walker, their Super Bowl MVP who went to the Chiefs as a free agent in the offseason.
"But I think there's mixed emotions. We're happy for him, but also, we're trying to figure out ways to stop this guy, too," Macdonald said.
Walker rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City's 22-6 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. He topped 100 rushing yards for the fourth time this season. Walker is averaging a league-leading 133 rushing yards per game and has scored a combined eight touchdowns so far.
Walker became the Seahawks' top back after Charbonnet was injured, and ran for 135 yards in the Super Bowl against the Patriots to earn MVP honors.
Chiefs Coach Andy Reid expects Walker to treat his return to Seattle as he does every game.
"I think the boys there will try to get after him a little bit. But he's a pretty level-headed guy. The way he plays, you're going to get a good rep when he gets the ball in his hands," Reid said. "He kind of has one speed: He's coming at you. It doesn't matter who he's playing or where he's playing."
The Seahawks' run defense is allowing an average of 96.0 yards a game, with four total rushing touchdowns. Seattle has not allowed a rusher to go 100 or more yards in 35 straight games, the league's longest current streak.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes against Seattle's pass defense. Mahomes has thrown for 1,309 yards with 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He's completing 66.5% of his passes. But he may be challenged by Seattle, which ranks atop the NFL allowing just 141.3 passing yards per game, and only eight passing touchdowns. In his two career games against the Seahawks, Mahomes has thrown for 497 yards with six touchdowns.