By: Dave Skretta, The Associated Press Posted:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs had been dominated in the trenches, Kenneth Walker had gone nowhere in his return to Seattle and Patrick Mahomes had been under duress all game, leaving Kansas City with a mere field goal on the board in the fourth quarter Sunday night.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs had been dominated in the trenches, Kenneth Walker had gone nowhere in his return to Seattle and Patrick Mahomes had been under duress all game, leaving Kansas City with a mere field goal on the board in the fourth quarter Sunday night.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs had been dominated in the trenches, Kenneth Walker had gone nowhere in his return to Seattle and Patrick Mahomes had been under duress all game, leaving Kansas City with a mere field goal on the board in the fourth quarter Sunday night.
Yet the Chiefs were still in the game.
Until kicker Harrison Butker missed another field-goal attempt, this time from 45 yards — a relative chip shot in the NFL these days — that would have made it a one-possession game with 8 1/2 minutes to go. It was Butker’s second miss of the night, and the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks handled their business from there, handing Kansas City a humbling 20-3 defeat.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid took the blame for everything afterward, his usual response to such a lackluster performance, yet there was plenty to go around. But the difference between Butker’s misses and an ineffective offense is that the former has become a long-term issue for Kansas City, while the woes for Mahomes & Co. were an aberration so far this season.
Butker has missed 15 kicks — 10 field-goal attempts, five PATs — since the start of last season, the most in the NFL.
“Life of a kicker,” Butker said. “It either goes in or it doesn’t. Unfortunately, there’s been some kicks that haven’t gone in.”
The misses, including multiple kicks in back-to-back games and four of the first six this season, hadn’t cost the Chiefs (5-1) until Sunday night. But when the offense was struggling to get into the end zone, they became one of the deciding factors in the game.
Butker’s inconsistency is especially frustrating given what Kansas City has invested in him. He’s the third-highest paid kicker in the league, carrying the sixth-highest base salary on the team — money that could have been invested in the wide receiver corps, which is struggling without the injured Tyquan Thornton and Rashee Rice, or the injury-riddled offensive line.
It bears mentioning that the Chiefs could get out of Butker’s contract after this season with only a manageable amount of dead money affecting their salary cap, so the pressure is on him to fix his consistency issues for more reasons than one.
“He’s been one of the most consistent kickers in football. He’s off a bit,” Reid acknowledged, “so got to fix it.”
What’s working
The Chiefs committed only two penalties in the game. That was just about the only highlight.
What needs help
Everything else. The offense managed 50 yards rushing and 213 yards in total, while going 3 for 11 on third down and possessing the ball nearly 11 minutes less than Seattle. On defense, the Chiefs coughed up 153 yards rushing and 410 yards in all, while allowing Sam Darnold and his offense to convert 11 of 16 third downs and control the game from start to finish.
“You don’t want to perform like this in primetime, in a big moment like this,” Mahomes said. “You got to feel it on that plane ride home and understand that it sucks, but then how can you build off it? That’s the biggest thing.”
Stock up
Nohl Williams picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it 65 yards, giving the Chiefs an opportunity to kick a field goal before halftime — which Butker missed. Williams, a second-year pro, has been quietly solid at cornerback for Kansas City all season.
Stock down
The Seahawks made a point of picking on defensive back L’Jarius Sneed, and for good reason: He has struggled all season in his return to Kansas City, where he started his career before a forgettably short tenure in Tennessee.
Injuries
Rice remained out with a hamstring injury and right tackle Jaylon Moore missed the game while in the concussion protocol. Getting one or both back for Sunday’s trip to Denver would help an offense that stagnated badly against the Seahawks.
Key number
2 — That’s the number of times the Chiefs have scored three points or fewer with Mahomes at quarterback. The first time came in a 27-3 loss to the Titans on October 24, 2021, and the second time came Sunday night in Seattle.
Up next
The Chiefs visit the Broncos, whom they routed 31-10 in their season opener at Arrowhead Stadium. Denver has played well after its slow start, winning its last three games, including a 17-14 victory over the same Seahawks that just waylaid Kansas City.
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