Seahawks defensive end Derick Hall hits Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes forcing him to fumble during the third quarter Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle. (Getty Images)
Seahawks defensive end Derick Hall hits Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes forcing him to fumble during the third quarter Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle. (Getty Images)
SEATTLE – You don’t know the power of the Dark Side.
Or maybe you forgot.
Just in case, the Seattle Seahawks “Dark Side” defense gave a reminder that it remains the most potent force in the NFL during Sunday night’s oh-so-close-to-a-shutout 20-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
In case you haven’t done the background reading, it’s important to understand the Chiefs entered the game ranked first in overall offense and fourth in points scored per game. It’s also good to know Sunday’s loss was their first all season.
Since you’re this far into a column about NFL football, I assume you already know the Chiefs are led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who at the tender age of 31 has already secured his retirement in the NFL Hall of Fame, and whose blend of creative wizardry and technical excellence, while perhaps taken for granted at this point, is no less of a challenge for defenses.
All caught up?
Oh! I almost forgot.
Kenneth Walker III, the former Seahawks draft pick who was the MVP of last year’s Super Bowl, returned to Lumen Field as the current betting favorite to win NFL MVP.
The last time he left Seattle with a Super Bowl Ring and a $43 million contract from Kansas City. This time he leaves just 36 rushing yards richer, easily his worst output of the season. Walker made some electric moves early in the game. But every time he would shake a Seahawks defender out of his shoes, two more were immediately on him.
Walker managed just 2.6 yards per carry and his longest carry gained just seven. Thanks to two carries from Mahomes, the Chiefs finished with 50 rushing yards. The average 159.8, the most in the NFL. The Kansas City offense’s 213 total yards were just barely half of their 414 yards per game average, also tops in the league.
“That’s our goal,” linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “Shut your lights out.”
The Chiefs vaunted offense finally only got on the board with 1:42 left in the third quarter, a 50-yard field goal they were fortunate to get after Derick Hall’s powerful hit on Mahomes the previous play knocked the ball loose, setting off a violent scramble for the ball in which both teams had multiple shots to secure it.
The Seahawks seemed adamant that possession was theirs, but when the officials finished clearing bodies off the pile, a Chiefs player had it. We’ll never know how many times the ball changed hands in the fight underneath the pile of bodies.
What makes the Seahawks defense so impossible to overcome is the sheer number of excellent players, and how well they play together. But if there was a standout on Sunday it was Nick Emmanwori.
Consider the second-year safety fully recovered from the offseason ankle surgery that kept him out of the season-opener.
The ankle is fine.
Emmanwori excelled as both a pass rusher and a defensive back on Sunday. He forced Mahomes into an interception in the second quarter, chasing him out of the pocket and launching into the quarterback as he tried to throw a long pass to Xavier Worthy. With no strength coming from his legs, Mahomes had to muscle the throw, causing it to sail high and into the arms of Seattle defensive back Ty Okada.
Worthy surely is eager to get away from Emmanwori. When he wasn’t rushing Mahomes throws, he was running stride for stride in coverage with Worthy, possibly the fastest receiver in the NFL. Much like Walker, Worthy’s world was made small by the Seahawks, and he finished with just 11 yards on three catches.
Seattle’s offense found its stride on Sunday as well. Entering the game they were ranked 29th in third-down rate, converting just 29% of the time, a key reason they lost three of their last four games. Against the Chiefs, however, Seattle converted 11-16 third down attempts.
“We’ve been putting in so much work so much work. And to see it not happen has been tough,” wide receiver Cooper Kupp said. “But we’ve just been coming into work and using the grindstone and see it materialize finally and that’s playing complementary football and playing off each other.”
Quarterback Sam Darnold, who played great but for one boneheaded interception in the end zone, scrambled for two of those conversions on third-and-long. He also threw an absolute dime against the sideline to Jackson Smith-Njigba, who tiptoed across the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown.
Smith-Njigba, last year’s Offensive Player of the Year, is off to an even hotter pace and leads the NFL with 867 receiving yards. His closest competitor is Chris Olave, who has 636 in as many games. Smith-Njigba also leads the NFL with eight touchdown catches. Nobody else has seven.