Chiefs lose first game

The Kansas City Chiefs lost their first game of the 2026 season on Sunday night, falling 27-19 to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. The defeat ended a perfect start for the Chiefs and exposed a critical gap in their passing game, as the receiving unit struggled to find open space against Seattle's secondary.

Seattle's defense forced the Chiefs' wide receivers to total just 39 yards on six combined receptions. With Rashee Rice out with a strained right hamstring and Tyquan Thornton on injured reserve, the Chiefs relied on Xavier Worthy, Cyrus Allen, Justin Watson, Andrew Armstrong, and Jalen Royals. None of those players gained more than 10 yards on a single catch. The lack of vertical threat allowed the Seahawks to play deep, a strategy that limited running back Kenneth Walker III to 36 yards on 14 carries despite his league-leading 665 yards entering the week.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold finished with 257 passing yards on 20 of 28 attempts. He threw an interception in the final seconds of the first half, marking his eighth such error in the last five games, but he avoided being sacked for the first time in three weeks. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the team with 129 yards in the first half, a career-high for any half. He now leads the league with 867 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, the first player since 1966 to reach 850 yards and eight scores in a team's first seven games.

Smith-Njigba described the team's effort as a display of brotherhood, noting that their resilience is something special. He said the group came out fighting after their backs were against the wall. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll will prepare his team for a home game against the Chicago Bears on Nov. 2 at 8:15 p.m. ET. The Chiefs travel to Denver next Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET to face the Broncos.

Fantasy analyst Michael Florio noted that Patrick Mahomes scored a season-low six fantasy points, throwing for only 165 yards. He has not thrown a touchdown in two games and has topped 250 passing yards only once in the last four. Meanwhile, Seahawks linebacker Bradley Chubb recorded two sacks, pressuring Mahomes on 15% of his passes according to team data. The game featured 11 penalties against the Chiefs, totaling 114 yards, which disrupted their rhythm in the second half.

The loss drops Kansas City to 6-1 on the season. The Seahawks improve to 4-3. Both teams will look to adjust their offensive schemes ahead of their next matchups. The Chiefs' general manager, Brett Veach, will face pressure to address the receiving corps before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Seattle will focus on maintaining its defensive consistency against the Bears' offensive line.