The Kansas City Chiefs got smacked in basically every area against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. The results were equally bad on offense and defense. Even on special teams, Harrison Butker failed to connect on a couple of field goal attempts.
You could point to a lot of areas where the Chiefs struggled in this one. We're going to focus on a defensive result that was not completely anticipated, especially when you consider Seattle's first six games. The Seahawks' success on the ground was not something many expected to see.
Even if Kenneth Walker III was going to be more bottled up than he had been, it did not seem like Seattle had the horses to outperform him on the ground by much. In fact, Walker was outshining the entire Seahawks rushing attack by himself entering this game.
The Seahawks looked more powerful and dynamic
Seattle simply bullied Kansas City with its rushing attack. The Seahawks' offensive line is capable of making things extremely muddy. It was not far-fetched to imagine they could drag the Chiefs into uncomfortable battles. Yet K.C. was blown off the ball at an alarming rate.
Emanuel Wilson's numbers were average at best entering this contest. He went for 100 rushing yards on 24 carries, though, good enough for 4.2 yards per carry. Wilson also added a late rushing touchdown.
Wilson had looked slow leading the way before this game. His early-season showings made it seem as if even last year's version of Kareem Hunt was possibly faster than him. But against Kansas City, he appeared more powerful and dynamic than he had all season. His cuts allowed him to find extra yards that hadn't been there previously.
Kansas City failed to wrap him up on the first attempt far too often. That became a theme, as the Chiefs' missed tackles were felt throughout the game. Perhaps no better example exists than the two Sam Darnold runs for a combined 17 yards when Kansas City seemingly had him dead to rights behind the line of scrimmage.
The opportunities to stuff runs or limit the damage from Wilson were there. Ironically, it was Seattle that used yards after contact to stay on schedule. The Chiefs had consistently enjoyed success in that area with Walker entering the game. Overall, the script was flipped on Sunday night.
Missed tackles were the epitome of Chiefs' entire team performance
The run defense still limited opportunities for runners not named Wilson. Some stuffs against Velus Jones or George Holani led to brief flashes of fire and emotion from the Chiefs. Of all the issues Sunday night, there were bigger concerns than Kansas City's run defense. But what made its performance so frustrating was the sheer number of missed tackles.
The pair of misses on Darnold. The extra yards Wilson gained after contact. The lack of push up front from the Kansas City defensive line. As a whole, the missed tackles were the most infuriating part of the night for the Chiefs' defense.
The Chiefs allowed just 13 points before a late touchdown broke the game open. Kansas City had held up strongly when backed up near its own goal line. The Seahawks did not score a single touchdown in three red-zone trips. The biggest difference for the Chiefs' defense was its inability to get off the field on crucial downs.
Missed tackles popped up on first and second down, too, but the Seahawks also converted 11 of 16 third-down attempts. Several came on simple plays where K.C. had opportunities to make stops well short of the marker. On other third downs, Kansas City failed to bring down runners who appeared to have been stopped just short of the sticks. The flailing and whiffing in space ultimately encapsulated a miserable night for the Chiefs' defense.
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