The Kansas City Chiefs return to the national stage on Sunday night for a clash with the Seattle Seahawks.
Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.
1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
The Chiefs will be without offensive tackle Jaylon Moore (concussion protocol), running back Brashard Smith (hamstring) and wide receiver Rashee Rice (hamstring) on Sunday night.
As for Seattle, the Seahawks will be without starting linebacker Drake Thomas (ankle) and running back Zach Charbonnet (knee), who is nearing a return from last season's ACL injury, but not quite ready just yet.
The Seahawks also listed a trio of impact defensive players as "Questionable" for Sunday's game, including safety Nick Emmanwori (hip), edge-rusher Demarcus Lawrence (knee) and edge-rusher Uchenna Nwosu (hip). Emmanwori, specifically, appears to have been injured during Friday's practice.
2. The Chiefs enter Sunday's game with the No. 2 scoring defense in the NFL.
Kansas City didn't surrender a touchdown in last week's win over the Chargers, and now entering Week 7, the Chiefs own the league's No. 2 scoring defense while also ranking near the top of the league in numerous categories, including missed tackle rate (1st), red zone touchdown efficiency (2nd), points allowed-per-drive (2nd), EPA per-play-allowed (3rd) and rushing average (5th).
Central to that success has been a strong pressure rate, and following a three-week stretch without a sack (despite creating consistent pressure), Kansas City bucked that trend with four sacks on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert last week.
A key figure in the Chiefs' overall success as a pass-rush this year has been defensive end George Karlaftis, who – despite appearing in just two games since Week 4 – leads all players with 19 pressures in that span.
The Seahawks have allowed 16 sacks this season, yielding exactly five sacks in each of their last two games – both losses. The Chiefs will aim for a similar performance on Sunday.
3. Seattle hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher since the 2024 season.
As impressive as the Chiefs were defensively last week, the Seahawks' defense is pretty good, too.
Seattle actually leads the NFL in several categories entering Sunday's game, including total defense (237.3 yards allowed-per-game), passing defense (141.3 yards allowed-per-game), yards-per-play allowed (4.0), and total takeaways (11), but it's the Seahawks' run-defense that shifts into full focus for Sunday's game.
That's because Seattle has allowed opposing rushers to gain four or more yards on just 36.6% of carries this season, which marks the best rate in the NFL. In fact, the Seahawks haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher since October of the 2024 season – a span of 35 consecutive games.
That sets up a true best-on-best matchup between Seattle's stout run defense and the Chiefs' explosive running game, which includes tailback Ken Walker – who leads the NFL in rushing yards (665), rushing yards-per-carry (6.27), rushing yards-per-game (133.0), broken tackles (41) and runs of 20+ yards (7) – not to mention rookie Emmett Johnson, who has impressed with his limited opportunities.
The Chiefs' collective ability to turn in another strong outing on the ground on Sunday night will almost certainly play a significant role in the outcome.
It's also worth mentioning that quarterback Patrick Mahomes – whose 103.1 passer rating marks his best since the 2022 season – is 4-3 in his career vs. top-ranked total defenses.
4. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has accounted for nearly half of the Seahawks' receiving yards.
Seattle has struggled at times offensively this season due to a variety of reasons, notably a dip in its success on play-action passing attempts, but the primary culprit behind the Seahawks' 3-3 start is simple: turnovers.
In fact, despite leading the NFL in takeaways this year with 11, the Seahawks still own a negative point differential due to their 12 giveaways as a team. Quarterback Sam Darnold is responsible for eight of those giveaways, which includes seven interceptions in just five games. Darnold has thrown multiple picks in three of his last four outings, and – unsurprisingly – the Seahawks lost all three.
But, while the Seahawks' offense isn't consistently putting up the numbers it did last season so far, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba hasn't missed a beat.
Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL in receiving yards last season and won Offensive Player of the Year, leads the league in catches (49), receiving yards (717) and receiving touchdowns (7) this season, and here's the craziest part: while Smith-Njigba has 717 receiving yards, the rest of the Seahawks' roster – the entire team – has 752 receiving yards combined.
So, in other words, Smith-Njigba has accounted for nearly half of the Seahawks' production through the air, not to mention all seven of Sam Darnold's touchdown passes.
Additionally, Smith-Njigba has accounted for 34.7% of the Seahawks' total scrimmage yards, which currently marks the highest tally for any wide receiver since the AFL-NFL merger. For reference, the last time a wide receiver carried this kind of production for his team was Isaac Bruce in 1995 (at 32.4%).
It's all to say that containing Smith-Njigba – and forcing somebody else on the Seahawks' offense to consistently win – is a major key to Sunday's game.
5. Patrick Mahomes is often at his best when the lights are brightest.
Mahomes is 31-13 in prime-time games during his brilliant career, which works out to a .705 winning percentage. Only Peyton Manning, who posted a .734 winning percentage in prime-time, owns a better mark since 2000 (among quarterbacks with at least 15 prime-time starts).
He has seven more prime-time wins than any other quarterback since 2018, and his 15 wins on Sunday Night Football specifically are five more than any other quarterback in that same span.
Mahomes is already 2-0 in prime-time this year, and with the Chiefs' undefeated record on the line, he'll have another chance to add to those numbers on Sunday as Kansas City takes on the Seahawks in Seattle.
