Chiefs Are Ready to Take on a Former AFC West Rival

The Chiefs have played in some memorable games against the Seahawks over the years, and a Christmas Eve battle could add to their storied history.

The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Seattle Seahawks in an inter-conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The two teams have an interesting history that dates back to when both clubs resided in the AFC West. The Chiefs lead the all-time series with a 33-19 record, but they lost in the last meet-up back in 2018. In fact, the Seahawks are one of only two teams Patrick Mahomes hasn’t defeated yet in his career.

Prior to this Christmas Eve outing, let's take a look back at a couple of the most memorable matchups between Kansas City and Seattle.

Derrick Thomas breaks NFL record with seven sacks in a game

On November 11, 1990, NFL Hall of Famer and Chiefs great Derrick Thomas sacked Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg seven times in the same game to set an NFL record that still stands to this day. Thomas had many impressive games in his illustrious career, but this one topped them all. After the game, which the Seahawks won 17-16, Thomas said the one that got away was going to be the play he remembered most from that contest.

With time running down, Thomas nearly had his eighth sack of the day but Krieg stumbled away, caught his balance and hit wide receiver Paul Skansi for a touchdown with mere seconds left. Despite the loss, it would remain one of Thomas’s most memorable performances of his career and one that Chiefs fans still talk about more than three decades later.

The 'Rain Game'

The Seahawks are used to a little bit of rain coming from Seattle, but this particular flood of epic proportions that surrounded Kansas City dominated the headlines. It was a prime-time matchup on Saturday, October 3rd, 1998 and over three inches of rain fell in a two-hour span just prior to kickoff and all the way through the end of the first half. A total of over 6 inches of rain were reported around the Kansas City metro.

There was also a lightning delay, with fans and players alike being instructed to take shelter midway through the second quarter. Officials actually shortened the halftime of this game to try and finish things at a decent hour. Rich Gannon led the way in the second half, having 12 completions on 19 attempts and tossing a touchdown pass to Andre Rison. The Chiefs would go on to win 17-6 in a game that fans and players will never forget.

Could there be another weather phenomenon that takes over the storylines in Kansas City on Saturday? The wind chills are expected to be below zero and the high temperature is slated to top off at a relatively warm 20 degrees near the end of the game.

Looking ahead to Christmas Eve

We know that Patrick Mahomes is a "snow game guy," but is he a play-in-freezing-cold-weather-at-an-MVP-level type of guy? He’ll certainly be looking to make his case on Sunday as the current front-runner for the MVP award. Jalen Hurts, who had been the odds-on favorite to win recently, will not be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend due to a shoulder injury. Last week, Mahomes became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw the ball 40 times and complete 88% of his passes. It’s just another absurd thing the Pro Bowl quarterback added to his resume.

The Seahawks have been hit-or-miss this season. Seattle has a better record than many expected, coming into the game at 7-7, and they are hoping to sneak into the NFC playoffs as a wild-card team. Quarterback Geno Smith has come back to earth lately but has shown he can be a starting-caliber player in the NFL. He will be without one of his favorite targets, though, as former Kansas State Wildcat Tyler Lockett will miss time with a broken finger. Smith will likely lean heavily on receiver DK Metcalf or one of his tight end outlets.

The Chiefs will try to give the fans some relief after back-to-back close games against the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. They’ll enter this week as a double-digit favorite, but there’s no guarantee that fans will get a breather. The offense will need to control the ball and not turn it over, and it would be nice to see the defensive momentum from overtime against the Texans roll over into this game. If the Chiefs can win the turnover battle, they will handle business.

Though the weather outside will be frightful, a Chiefs win on Christmas Eve would be so delightful.