The Seattle Seahawks (1-0-1) made sure there wouldn\u2019t be a squandered preseason lead on a rainy Friday night at Lumen Field. It was a terrific night for the offense from starters to reserves, as the Seahawks rushed for an astonishing 268 yards as part of a 477-yard night and a comfortable 33-16 win over Kansas City. Sam Darnold\u2019s only series ended in a Zach Charbonnet touchdown, while Drew Lock had as many touchdowns to Jake Bobo (2) as he did incomplete passes. Jalen Milroe didn\u2019t have a lot of passing reps but he did get a first-team appearance by sneaking the ball in short yardage, so there\u2019s that!<\/p>\n
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and many other stars for the Chiefs sat this one out, but they still had their starting offensive line and some defensive players getting some snaps in the opening quarter. Unlike last week, Kansas City\u2019s reserves on offense didn\u2019t overwhelm Seattle\u2019s defensive reserves, and the Seahawks never looked back after racing out to an early 14-0 lead.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just preseason, but that was an ass-kicking that will have a lot of fans hyped heading into the regular season. There was a major emphasis on being a more physical football team in the trenches, and on the offensive side of the ball we\u2019re seeing something that looks wildly different than recent Seahawks squads.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks got the ball first and had a big kick return by George Holani out to midfield, but a Drake Thomas holding penalty brought it back. Zach Charbonnet got things going with a 13-yard run behind great blocks by Grey Zabel and Jalen Sundell. Sam Darnold was 4\/4 for 34 yards, Jalen Milroe had a \u2018tush push\u2019 type of sneak for Seattle\u2019s only third down of the entire drive, and Charbonnet wrapped things up with a 15-yard touchdown run. Dominant blocking by Seattle\u2019s offensive line in the run game, led by Grey Zabel and Jalen Sundell! Preseason or not, it\u2019s beautiful to watch!<\/p>\n
Kansas City sat Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and some other key starters but did have the starting offensive line and running back Isiah Pacheco in the game for the opening drive. Gardner Minshew II led the Chiefs deep into Seahawks territory off the back of a swing pass to Pacheco on a Nick Emmanwori coverage bust and a darting throw to Tyquan Thornton. When it came time to go for it on 4th and 1 at Seattle\u2019s 15, fullback Carson Steele was stuffed by Julian Love!<\/p>\n
Darnold and the top skill position players were done for the night for the Seahawks, but the (healthy, available) offensive line starters were still out there. It was a mismatch in the trenches, with the Seahawks running the ball on almost every play and racking up chunk plays. George Holani busted one for 30 yards, Damien Martinez benefited from a great Anthony Bradford block and gained 19 yards, and by the end of the first quarter the Seahawks had over 100 yards on the ground.<\/p>\n
Two plays into the second quarter, it was time for #MoreBobo. Drew Lock, who hadn\u2019t attempted a pass the entire series, threw a quick screen to Jake Bobo, who made a man miss and took it to the house on a 12-yard scamper. Now that\u2019s some efficiency out of your passing game!<\/p>\n
A big kick return by Jalen Royals set the Chiefs up in great field position. A Ty Okada defensive pass interference set up KC in a goal-to-go situation. On 3rd and goal at the 1, the Chiefs ran a play-action rollout and it looked like everything was covered, but veteran tight end Robert Tonyan was able to push\/separate from D\u2019Anthony Bell and get free for the score.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks were on their way to another score after Drew Lock converted 3rd and 13 to Dareke Young and then took off for a 30-yard run to the Kansas City 6. Unfortunately, the drive stalled and Lock skipped a throw across his body short to Nick Kallerup on 4th and goal at the 2. No worries, for Brandon Pili got into the backfield and stuffed Elijah Mitchell in the end zone for a safety!<\/p>\n
Seattle got the ball back with a chance to add to its lead before the half, and you better believe the \u2018Hawks added points! Another touchdown by Bobo from Lock made it 23-7. Dareke Young had a key 24-yard catch on a crosser after Seattle faced 1st and 20, plus he had a 13-yard gain into the red zone.<\/p>\n
Chris Oladokun was Kansas City\u2019s quarterback for the last two series of the first half, but all he did was hand the ball off. He had a couple of impressive throws to start the second half, including a nifty side-arm to Robert Tonyan with Mike Morris charging at him. The Seahawks defense was able to hold KC to a Harrison Butker field goal.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t quite time for Jalen Milroe, as Lock had one more series before departing. Surprise, surprise, it was another run-heavy drive and the Chiefs could barely do a thing about it. Jacardia Wright showed tremendous balance to land on top of a Chiefs defender, not have his knee touch, and break free for a 19-yard gain. Damien Martinez did the dirty work in the red zone and scored his first touchdown from a yard out.<\/p>\n
Jalen Milroe took over for the rest of the night and went 3\/5 for 46 yards, rushing for 18 yards on mostly scrambles. He had a nice completion over the middle to Brady Russell on a slant, as well as a 3rd down conversion to Ricky White III for 20 yards. One of his misses was a potential touchdown to Anthony Tyus, who was open in the flat but Milroe overcooked the throw. If you were hoping for excitement, maybe tune in next week.<\/p>\n
Embattled Chiefs receiver Skyy Moore, who dropped basically everything his way, caught a punt return and turned in an 88-yard touchdown to wrap up the scoring.<\/p>\n
Scoring summary and highlights<\/p>\n
1st quarter: Zach Charbonnet 15-yard touchdown run – SEA 7, KC 0 <\/p>\n
2nd quarter: Jake Bobo 12-yard touchdown pass from Drew Lock – SEA 14, KC 0<\/p>\n
2nd quarter: Robert Tonyan 1-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew – SEA 14, KC 7<\/p>\n
2nd quarter: Elijah Mitchell tackled in end zone for a safety – SEA 16, KC 7<\/p>\n
2nd quarter: Jake Bobo 12-yard touchdown pass from Drew Lock – SEA 23, KC 7<\/p>\n
3rd quarter: Damien Martinez 1-yard touchdown run – SEA 30, KC 10<\/p>\n
4th quarter: Jason Myers 21-yard field goal – SEA 33, KC 10 <\/p>\n
4th quarter: Skyy Moore 88-yard punt return touchdown – SEA 33, KC 16<\/p>\n
Rookie guard Bryce Cabeldue suffered a left arm injury on Drew Lock\u2019s 30-yard run in the 2nd quarter. He was replaced by Sataoa Laumea. He returned to the sideline with his helmet on and returned to the game in the 2nd half.<\/p>\n
Rookie receiver Tory Horton was absent in the second half and indeed didn\u2019t even play another snap after his lone catch of the game back in the first half. It appeared as if he took an awkward step but there wasn\u2019t any wrapping on his knee or anything. Hopefully it\u2019s super precautionary.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks go on the road to take on the Green Bay Packers in their preseason finale on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 1 pm PT on KING-5 and NFL Network.<\/p>\n