After a strange season in 2025, the Kansas City Chiefs are back at the top of the NFL in 2026 and are already on their way to another Chiefs-Bills AFC Championship game. But last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, have been much less convincing. After opening the season with two wins over the New England Patriots and the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle entered the weekend just 1-3 since then. The surprising loss to the Commanders was followed by a win over the hapless LA Chargers, then two frustrating losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos in overtime. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you register or place a bet, FOX News may receive compensation. This content was created by a team working independently of the FOX newsroom. Last weekend’s loss was so ugly that speculation began immediately afterward that Sam Darnold could be in danger of losing his starting job to Drew Lock. From Super Bowl winner to Drew Lock’s backup in six games? It sounds crazy, but that’s what going 27/51 with no touchdowns and two interceptions in a losing effort against a quarterback with 107 passing yards does in the NFL. Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks watches after a play against the New England Patriots during the first quarter of the game at Lumen Field on September 9, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images) “Sam played great football for us this year most of the time,” he said in an Oct. 16 radio interview. “There are other times where he needs to take care of the ball, but I think these are solutions we can find with Sam as our QB. I think so.” “I think we have a lot of faith in Sam,” he added at a news conference later that day. “Sam has played great football for us. He’s done a lot of great things this year. Obviously we’ve turned the ball over more than we wanted to. I feel like there are things on our part that can help him play better football. And I think that’s definitely part of the solution, and not the other way around.” He and Seahawks fans are probably glad Macdonald stuck with him. Despite some additional and grueling struggles with ball security. After a punt-heavy first quarter, the second provided much more action. While Patrick Mahomes struggled uncharacteristically, with an interception that ended the Chiefs’ momentum, Darnold was on fire for Seattle. On the Seahawks’ first scoring drive, he threw for 71 yards, including a 33-yard completion to Jaxson Smith-Njigba. On the next series, after Mahomes’ interception, Darnold found Smith-Njigba again, connecting on a 28-yard touchdown pass thanks to the 24-year-old receiver’s impressive strength to stay in bounds. However, in the final seconds of the second quarter, Darnold’s ball security issues surfaced again. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field on Jan. 25, 2026. (Steven Bisig/Imagn Images) After another huge 28-yard completion to Smith-Njigba to put the ball at the Kansas City 2-yard line with 30 seconds left in the half, the Seahawks attempted a career of George Holani who left. backward. Darnold, under pressure, tried to find Rasheed Shaheed in the end zone, only to be intercepted by Noah Williams. CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE Williams added a long run, seemingly setting up the Chiefs for an unlikely last-second score. But Harrison Butker, not off to his best start so far, missed the 58-yard field goal to end the half. In the third, Darnold was at it again, completing passes of 17, 12 and 19 yards to help Seattle score three points and make the score 13-0. And the Chiefs’ typically dominant offense simply never got going. Mahomes was frequently hurried, and with Rashee Rice once again out, there was little separation from Kansas City’s receiving corps. Kenneth Walker couldn’t do much on the ground either. THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW: UNFILTERED, UNAPPOLOGIZED AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD YOUR DAILY PODCAST NOW! Mahomes wasn’t far from his best either, nearly losing a fumble in the third quarter, and mostly making his way down the field dunking and dunking. Even when the Chiefs finally put together a solid drive in the fourth, Butker missed his second kick of the game, just a 45-yard attempt, which would have cut the score to 13-6. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws a pass against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley) Seattle took advantage, ending the game with Emanuel Wilson’s 21-yard touchdown run on third-and-4. While Lumen Field is a tough place to play, the level at which Seattle dominated Sunday night’s game was still surprising. Before garbage time, they had a 388-210 yard lead with 22 first downs to Kansas City’s 11. The Seahawks also went 11/15 on third downs, compared to just 3/11 for Kansas City. Kenneth Walker, coming off a game in which he had 19 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns, was just 14 of 36 against Seattle. And KC’s three points entering the fourth quarter were the fewest of any game in Mahomes’ storied career. SUBSCRIBE TO OUTKICK’S DAILY NEWSLETTER It was the type of suffocating defensive performance that has become a hallmark of the Seahawks’ career in recent seasons. And perhaps even more encouraging, a much better outing from Darnold, aside from a terrible interception in the second quarter. OUTKICK IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE FOX NEWS APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD The Seahawks stay home to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night, while the Chiefs travel to Denver to take on the Broncos at Empower Field. Ian Miller is a writer at OutKick.
