Lefko: Instant reaction to Seahawks’ 24-10 loss to Kansas City
Dec 24, 2022, 1:19 PM | Updated: Jan 23, 2023, 3:36 pm
Jerick McKinnon of the Kansas City Chiefs dives for a TD against the Seahawks on Dec. 24, 2022. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
The Seahawks’ 24-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday was the inverse to their previous game against the 49ers: the final score doesn’t indicate how close the game actually was until that late interception by Geno Smith.
Unfortunately, a tremendous effort by Seattle’s defense goes for naught due to the offense’s inability to find a rhythm.
Chiefs 24, Seahawks 10: Recap | Box score
The defense does deserve praise for keeping the game within 14 points for most of the second half. Until the Chiefs’ 80-yard touchdown drive – after which the game was all but over – the Seahawks’ defense had held the Chiefs to 28 total yards in the second half. The run defense has been the Seahawks’ fatal flaw for most of the season, but the Chiefs were held to just 77 yards rushing on 22 carries. All of the categories that had tilted so heavily towards Seattle’s opponents this season (time of possession, total yards, etc.) were not factors at all in determining the outcome of this game.
However, the offense couldn’t muster up anything to support the defensive effort. The Seahawks didn’t record a first down until there was 7:30 left in the first half, and they finished with 98 total yards on 30 plays before halftime.
DK Metcalf came to life in the final drive of the half but the Seahawks were unable to get him the ball in the second half; Metcalf finished with just two targets and one reception in the final two quarters.
Big day for Seahawks’ D spoiled by low point for offense
It was almost too much of a commitment to the run game after big runs from Kenneth Walker III in the second half didn’t lead to any kind of vertical attempts, play-action, or anything to keep the Chiefs’ defense guessing. It certainly appeared like the absence of Tyler Lockett and the offensive line’s struggle to pass block factored into that decision to shift so heavily towards the run.
If there is a silver lining from this one, it’s that when Walker gets opportunities, he takes advantage of them. He looked like the Walker from earlier in the season with 26 carries for 107 yards and the bulk of the offensive production in the second half.
I’m not sure anyone really saw the Seahawks being able to go into Kansas City and knock off the Chiefs, so now you get to go home for two winnable games – the Jets on Jan. 1, then the Rams on Jan. 8 – with a playoff berth still within reach.
