With the Seahawks putting up 33 points, 477 total yards, 29 first downs and 268 rushing yards, and doing so in a new scheme under a new offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, the offense was naturally the biggest story of Friday's win.
But what shouldn't be overlooked in Friday's game is what the Seahawks were able to do on defense. Yes, the Chiefs rested a few of their top starters, most notably quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, but most of the rest of their offensive starters were in on that opening drive, after which the Seahawks also pulled their starters. And in a battle of second and third-string units, Seattle's defense clearly had the upper hand, limiting Kansas City to 156 total yards and nine first downs.
Not including drives at the end of the first half and the end of the game, Kansas City had seven possessions, only two of which ended in scores, a second quarter touchdown and a third quarter field goal—their other touchdown came on a punt return—while the other five ended in a turnover on downs, a safety and three punts.
"That's what I was most excited about today," Love said of Seattle's young depth stepping up. "Those guys were balling. There were very little explosives, the DBs were tackling well today, the D-line, those young boys up there were getting it. Across the board, it was just exciting to see."
And as good as Love's fourth-down stop was, it might not have been the defense's best play of the game. After Seattle's offense got stopped going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, the very next play saw third-year nose tackle Brandon Pili shoot into the backfield to tackle Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell in the end zone for a safety.
"We lined up and they were in a heavy formation, so I knew they were going to run the ball and I was saying to Bubba [Thomas] right next to me, I was like 'Man, we should run a stunt here,'" Pili said. "And sure enough they called on that and we ran it to perfection. I just hit the hole. The flow was going to me, so I just took the step, hit the hole and got vertical."
The defense finishing the way it did was especially rewarding for those young players after the Seahawks were unable to hold onto a 16-3 halftime lead against the Raiders in a game that ended in a tie.