Seahawks beat Chiefs 20-3 as Harrison Butker misses two kicks in Kansas City's first loss

Seattle's defense sets the tone

The Seattle Seahawks beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-3 at Lumen Field on Sunday, 25 October, ending the Chiefs' unbeaten start and dropping them to 5-1. Seattle, the reigning Super Bowl champion, moved to 4-3 after losing three of its previous four games. Kansas City's only points came on a Harrison Butker field goal in the third quarter, and it finished with 213 yards of total offense, 96 of them in a scoreless first half. Patrick Mahomes was restricted to 165 passing yards, and the Seahawks' defense did not allow a touchdown.

Seattle Seahawks20

Kansas City Chiefs3

Seattle Seahawks

20 points

Kansas City Chiefs

3 points

Data from the article text

Butker's missed kicks

Butker missed two field goals, the second a 45-yard attempt that would have made it a one-possession game with 8 1/2 minutes to play. Those misses did not cost the Chiefs earlier in the season, but on Sunday the offense struggled to reach the end zone and the kicks became decisive. Butker has missed 15 kicks, 10 field-goal attempts and five extra points, since the start of last season, the most in the NFL.

Field-goal attempts10

Extra points5

Field-goal attempts

10 missed kicks

Extra points

5 missed kicks

Data from the article text

“It either goes in or it doesn't.”

Butker acknowledged that some of his kicks have not gone in this season. Andy Reid, the Chiefs coach, took the blame for the team's overall performance but also addressed his kicker.

“He's been one of the most consistent kickers in football. He's off a bit.”

Reid said the kicker needed to fix his consistency. Butker is the third-highest paid kicker in the league and carries the sixth-highest base salary on the team, and Kansas City could exit his contract after this season with only a manageable amount of dead money affecting its salary cap.

Walker and the Seahawks defense

Nick Emmanwori, the Seattle nickel back, said the defense had a specific goal against his former teammate.

“I'm not going to sit here and lie: I definitely did want to hold him under 100.”

Walker, who was Super Bowl MVP with Seattle last season, managed 14 carries for 36 yards in his return to Lumen Field. That left him short of the 100-yard mark, which Seattle's defense has now kept any individual from reaching in 36 consecutive games. After the game Walker called his team's effort "terrible," and a broadcast showed him go straight to the Chiefs locker room without shaking hands with his former teammates and coaches.

Seattle's offense steadies

Sam Darnold completed 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, after being sacked five times across two straight losses. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and Emanuel Wilson eclipsed 100 yards on the ground. Seattle outgained Kansas City 410 yards to 213 and went 11 of 16 on third down. The Seahawks had committed 10 turnovers in their three defeats this season, and their offense held onto the ball far better on Sunday.

Other NFL results

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 at the Stade de France in Paris, the first regular-season NFL game at France's national stadium. Aaron Rodgers passed Peyton Manning for the third-most touchdown passes in NFL history during that game. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Las Vegas Raiders 35-21, with Matthew Stafford becoming the Rams' all-time leader in touchdown passes. The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers 20-17 on a Jake Bates field goal, and the Atlanta Falcons beat the San Francisco 49ers 29-20, ending the 49ers' unbeaten record.