January 1, Seahawks Defense Stifles Mahomes as Darnold Silences Critics

Wyatt’s Take

• Seattle’s defense completely shut down the Chiefs and reminded everyone what real football looks like.
• Sam Darnold answered every doubt with a steady performance that kept his starting job secure.
• Another dominant Seahawks win proves heartland values of hard work and grit still win games.

Seattle turned heads Sunday night with a 20-3 pounding of the Kansas City Chiefs at Lumen Field. The Seahawks defense set the tone early and never let Patrick Mahomes find any rhythm all night.

Sam Darnold came into the game under heavy fire after a couple of rough outings. He answered every question with a sharp, mistake-free night that kept the ball moving and the scoreboard rolling in Seattle’s favor.

“Sam’s played great football for us this year the majority of the time,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald 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,” Macdonald 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.”

Seattle’s front seven kept the Chiefs in the backfield all night and forced Kansas City into predictable, short passes that went nowhere. The Seahawks racked up 388 yards to just 210 for the Chiefs and converted 11 of 15 third downs while holding Kansas City to just 3 of 11.

Patrick Mahomes struggled to find open receivers and spent most of the night under pressure. Harrison Butker missed two field goals that would have kept the Chiefs within striking distance, but the Seattle defense never gave them the chance.

Seattle stays home to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night. The Chiefs travel to Denver to take on the Broncos at Empower Field.

Wyatt Matters

Hard work, discipline, and standing your ground still pay off. Seattle’s defense showed what happens when a team refuses to quit and sticks with its plan instead of panicking at the first sign of trouble.