After their only stretch this season with back-to-back home games, and riding a three-game winning streak, the Seahawks are back on the road to play the Chiefs in Kansas City on Sunday.
KANSAS CITY – A look at the Seahawks’ Week 11 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, including five matchups that could impact the outcome:
When: Sunday, 10 a.m. PT, Arrowhead Stadium
Records: Seahawks are 6-3 and second in the NFC West after last week’s 38-17 victory over the New York Giants at CenturyLink Field; Chiefs are 6-3 and second in the AFC West after last week’s 17-13 victory over the Bills in Buffalo.
Streaks: The Seahawks have won three in a row, after losing two in a row; the Chiefs have won four in a row, and six of seven, after starting the season with back-to-back losses.
TV: FOX (channel 13 in Seattle), with Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Daryl Johnston (analyst) and Tony Siragusa (sideline)
Radio: 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, with Steve Raible (play-by-play), Warren Moon (analyst) and Jen Mueller (sideline)
Rest of the West: Lions at Cardinals (8-1), 49ers (5-4) at Giants and Broncos at Rams (3-6)
Matchup Microscope
Chiefs’ defense vs. Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks’ Beast Mode back ran for a career-high four touchdowns in last week’s game against the Giants. The last back to run for a TD against the Chiefs was the Colts’ Donald Brown – in Week 16 last season. That’s right, the Chiefs have yet to allow a rushing touchdown this season, despite facing the Dolphins’ Lamar Miller (six), Jets’ Chris Ivory (five), Rams’ Benny Cunningham (four), 49ers’ Frank Gore (three) and Chargers’ Brendan Oliver (three), who have combined for 21 rushing TDs. Ivory (108) and Gore (107) had 100-yard rushing performances against the Chiefs, but did not find the end zone. Now comes Lynch, who has 12 touchdowns in nine games (nine of the team’s league-high 14 rushing; three receiving). Between the goal lines, the Chiefs are allowing averages of 115.6 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry. Lynch is averaging 76.6 rushing yards per game and 4.5 per carry. An interesting twist to this matchup will be how the Chiefs respond to the success QB Russell Wilson had running the read-option against the Giants (107 yards on 14 carries). If they pay too much attention to the possibility of Wilson going one way, it could open things up for Lynch going the other way.
One to Watch
Russell Wilson. The Seahawks’ QB has been on a run this season, literally. In addition to the 107 yards he contributed to the Seahawks’ club-record 350-yard rushing performance against the Giants last week, Wilson ran for 122 yards against the Redskins and 106 against the Rams. Those are the three highest-yardage games of Wilson’s 3½-season career, as well as the highest by a QB in the Seahawks’ 38½-season history. But, Wilson ranks higher in the league is rushing (15th, with 500 yards to lead all quarterbacks) than he does in passer rating (18th at 89.9). The culprit has been his past three games, when he’s had three of his 10 lowest-rated games – 77.5 against the Panthers, 63.9 against the Raiders and 53.7 against the Giants. After his previous low-ratings games, Wilson responded with some of his most efficient and productive games. So he’s due.
Fun to Watch
Seahawks CB Richard Sherman and FS Earl Thomas vs. Chiefs WRs Dwayne Bowe. The Chiefs have 11 touchdown receptions, but none by a wide receiver. Sherman and Thomas need to make sure that continues. It’s not all up to Sherman and Thomas, but they have been the constants in an injury-depleted Legion of Boom secondary where the Seahawks have started three players at strong safety (Kam Chancellor, DeShawn Shead and Jeron Johnson) and two at right corner (Byron Maxwell and Tharold Simon) and nickel back (Jeremy Lane and Marcus Burley). It’s not all up to Bowe, either, but he is the Chiefs’ leader in receptions (39) and targets (58) – including 25 receptions on 35 targets during the Chiefs’ four-game winning streak. In his only previous game against the Seahawks, Bowe caught 13 passes for 170 yards and a career-high three TDs. But that was in a 2010 game in Seattle, when Thomas was a rookie and Sherman was still at Stanford.
One Tough Task
The Seahawks at Arrowhead Stadium. The Seahawks’ 5-20 record at the Chiefs’ home stadium is history. The last time the Seahawks played at Arrowhead was 2006, and none of the current Seahawks were on that team. But the factors that played into those previous ambushes at Arrowhead remain, and make it one of the toughest venues in the NFL for visiting teams. It starts with the team that plays there – the Chiefs, who went 5-3 at home in their first season under coach Andy Reid, when the losses came to the playoff-bound Chargers, Broncos and Colts in the final six games of 2013; and are 3-1 at home this season. But it also includes the atmosphere – which features a sea-of-red crowd of 74,000-plus. This week, the weather also will be a factor. The forecast for Sunday is calling for a high of 30 degrees – after a 90-percent chance of snow on Saturday. The Seahawks have played in eight games when the temperature at kickoff was 30 degrees or below, and they’re 2-6.
Don’t Overlook
Justin Houston. After collecting 10 sacks in 2012 and 11 last season, the Chiefs’ linebacker/rush-end already has a league-leading 12 this season. The 6-foot-3, 258-pound Houston is one of those players that must be located before each snap in order to best deal with him after the snap. And no one has to remind Wilson of this, and he puts Tamba Hali in that must-find-to-contain category as well. “Knowing where those guys are, you’ve got to know,” the Seahawks’ QB said. “They’re great football players. They’re some of the best in the league. And we’re going to have to do a great job of slowing them down.” The 6-3, 275-pound Hali has four sacks this season, but he had 11 last season, 12 in 2011 and 14.5 in 2010.
Worth Noting
The Chiefs lead the series 32-18, including a 20-5 edge at Arrowhead Stadium. … During the Chiefs’ six-wins-in-seven-games streak, QB Alex Smith has completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 1,412 yards, with 10 TD passes and one interception, for a 104.2 passing rating. … Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles has eight TDs (six rushing, two receiving) and his 5.5-yard rushing average for his career is the highest in NFL history for a back with a minimum of 750 carries. … Bowe had season-highs in receptions (eight) and yards (93) last week. … The Chiefs’ TE tandem of Travis Kelce and Anthony Fasano has six TD catches, and the Seahawks defense already has yielded 10 TD passes to tight ends. … The Chiefs have outscored their opponents in every quarter, including a 79-28 advantage in the fourth quarter. … LB Josh Mauga leads the Chiefs with 62 tackles. … LB K.J. Wright leads the Seahawks with 71 tackles.
Five matchups to watch: Seahawks at Chiefs