Seahawks Hand Chiefs First Loss, 20-3, as Defense Smothers Kenneth Walker III

The Seattle Seahawks handed the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season Sunday night, beating them 20-3 at Lumen Field behind a defense that never let Patrick Mahomes' offense reach the red zone. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and Emanuel Wilson ran for 100 yards, including a 21-yard score that put it away midway through the fourth quarter.

Seattle snapped a two-game losing streak and moved to 4-3. Kansas City fell to 5-1, leaving Minnesota as the NFL's only unbeaten team.

Walker's homecoming goes nowhere

The week's storyline was Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl LX MVP, facing the team he left in free agency. He entered as the league's leading rusher with 665 yards and had gone over 117 yards in four of Kansas City's five games. Seattle, playing two deep safeties for most of the night, held him to 36 yards on 14 carries without a single run of 10 yards or more. Per ESPN, Mike Macdonald's defense has now gone 36 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher, the longest active streak in the league.

Kansas City finished with 213 total yards and 11 first downs and went 3 of 11 on third down. The Chiefs got no closer than Seattle's 27-yard line, and the NBC broadcast noted it was the first time in a Mahomes start, playoffs included, that Kansas City never reached the red zone.

How Seattle built the lead

The first half belonged to Smith-Njigba. Jason Myers opened the scoring with a 25-yard field goal on a 15-play, 86-yard drive in the second quarter. On the Chiefs' next possession, safety Ty Okada intercepted Mahomes in Seattle territory, with Nick Emmanwori supplying the pressure.

Seattle turned it into points. Sam Darnold found Smith-Njigba for a 28-yard touchdown, a toe-tapping catch along the sideline, to cap a 10-play, 66-yard drive and make it 10-0.

Smith-Njigba had 129 receiving yards in the first half, the most in any half of his career, according to ESPN Research. He now leads the NFL with 867 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, and ESPN says he's the first player of the Super Bowl era with at least 850 yards and eight receiving scores through his team's first seven games.

Kansas City's best chance came just before halftime. Darnold forced a second-down throw into the back of the end zone, and second-year cornerback Nohl Williams picked it off and returned it 65 yards. Harrison Butker's 58-yard field-goal try fell short, and Seattle took a 10-0 lead into the break.

Butker's miss and the dagger

Myers hit a 35-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half. The Chiefs answered with Butker's 50-yarder, a drive that survived a Mahomes fumble forced by Derick Hall that Kansas City recovered on third down.

That was as close as it got. Butker pushed a 45-yard attempt wide right with 8:33 left that would have made it a one-score game. Seattle went 65 yards in nine plays, and Wilson went untouched through the middle for a 21-yard touchdown to make it 20-3.

The numbers

Darnold completed 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards with a touchdown and an interception, his eighth pick in five games. He wasn't sacked after taking five in each of Seattle's previous two games. Wilson carried 24 times for 100 yards. Seattle outgained Kansas City 410-213, had 24 first downs to the Chiefs' 11 and converted 11 of 16 third downs.

Mahomes went 19 of 33 for 165 yards with an interception, a 58.3 passer rating, and had just 37 passing yards at halftime. ESPN had him under pressure on eight of his 15 first-half dropbacks. Travis Kelce led Kansas City with four catches for 44 yards and moved into fifth place on the NFL's career receptions list. Drue Tranquill had a game-high 12 tackles, while Ernest Jones IV led Seattle with nine and Hall had the game's only sack.

Chiefs' shorthanded offense

Kansas City played without both starting tackles, Josh Simmons and Jaylon Moore, and its top two receivers. Rashee Rice missed the game with a strained right hamstring, and Tyquan Thornton is on injured reserve after ankle surgery. The Chiefs' wideouts combined for six catches and 39 yards, which ESPN's Nate Taylor says should keep general manager Brett Veach looking for a receiver before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Simmons' absence came days after he was told to leave a team meeting.

What's next

The Chiefs visit the Denver Broncos (5-2) on Sunday, Nov. 1 (4:25 p.m. ET). The Seahawks, two games behind the 6-1 49ers in the NFC West, host the Chicago Bears (5-2) on Monday Night Football on Nov. 2 (8:15 p.m. ET).