After a bizarre 2025 season, the Kansas City Chiefs are right back at the top of the NFL in 2026 and already well on their way toward yet another Chiefs-Bills AFC Championship game.
But last year’s Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks, have been far less convincing. After opening the season with two wins over the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals, Seattle entered the weekend just 1-3 since. The surprising loss to the Commanders was followed by a win over the hapless LA Chargers, then two frustrating losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos in overtime.
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Last weekend’s loss was ugly enough that speculation started immediately afterward that Sam Darnold might be in danger of losing his starting job to Drew Lock. From Super Bowl winner to backing up Drew Lock in six games? It sounds crazy, but that’s what going 27/51 with no touchdowns and two interceptions, in a losing effort to a quarterback with 107 passing yards, does in the NFL.
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Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was adamant, however, that he’d stick with Darnold.
Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks looks on after a play against the New England Patriots during the first quarter in the game at Lumen Field on Sept. 9, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
“Sam’s played great football for us this year the majority of the time,” he said in an October 16 radio interview. “There’s other times he needs to take care of the football, but I think these are solutions we can find with Sam as our QB. I believe that.”
“I think we have a lot of faith in Sam,” he added in a news conference that same day. “Sam’s played great football for us. He’s done a lot of great things this year. We’ve obviously turned the ball over more than we want to. I feel like there’s things on our end that can help him play better football. And I think he’s definitely part of the solution, rather than the opposite.”
He, and Seahawks fans, are probably glad Macdonald stuck with him. Despite some further, back-breaking struggles with ball security.
After a punt-filled first quarter, the second provided a lot more action. While Patrick Mahomes uncharacteristically struggled, with an interception killing a Chiefs’ drive, Darnold was on fire for Seattle. On the Seahawks’ first scoring drive, he threw for 71 yards, including a 33-yard completion to Jaxson Smith-Njigba. The very next drive, after Mahomes’ interception, Darnold found Smith-Njigba again, connecting on a 28-yard touchdown pass thanks to some impressive strength from the 24-year-old wideout to stay in bounds.
In the waning seconds of the second quarter, though, Darnold’s ball security issues crept up again.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field on Jan. 25, 2026. (Steven Bisig/Imagn Images)
After yet another big 28-yard completion to Smith-Njigba to put the ball at the Kansas City 2-yard-line with 30 seconds left in the half, the Seahawks tried a George Holani run that went backwards. Darnold, under pressure, tried to find Rasheed Shaheed in the endzone, only to get picked off by Noah Williams.
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Williams added a lengthy runback, seemingly setting up the Chiefs for an unlikely, last-second score.
But Harrison Butker, not off to his best start thus far, missed the 58-yard field goal to end the half.
In the third, Darnold was back at it again, completing passes of 17, 12, and 19 yards to help Seattle add three points and make it 13-0. And the typically dominant Chiefs offense just didn’t ever get on track. Mahomes was frequently hurried, and with Rashee Rice once again out, there was little separation from the Kansas City receiving corps. Kenneth Walker couldn’t get much going on the ground either.
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Mahomes was far from his best either, nearly losing a fumble in the third quarter, and mostly dinking and dunking his way down the field. Even when the Chiefs finally put together a solid drive in the fourth, Butker missed his second kick of the game, just a 45-yard try, that would have narrowed the score to 13-6.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws a pass against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Seattle took advantage, putting the game away with a 21-yard touchdown run from Emanuel Wilson on third-and-4.
While Lumen Field is a tough place to play, the level to which Seattle dominated Sunday night’s game was still surprising. Prior to garbage time, they had a 388 to 210 yardage advantage with 22 first downs to Kansas City’s 11. The Seahawks went 11/15 on third downs too, compared to just 3/11 for Kansas City. Kenneth Walker, coming off a game in which he had 19 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns, went just 14 for 36 against Seattle. And the three points for KC entering the fourth quarter was tied for the fewest of any game in Mahomes’ storied career.
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It was the type of suffocating defensive performance that’s become a hallmark of the Seahawks’ run the past few seasons. And perhaps even more encouraging, a much better outing from Darnold, awful second quarter interception aside.
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The Seahawks stay home to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night, while the Chiefs travel to Denver to take on the Broncos at Empower Field.
