Chiefs On SI Mailbag: Were the Chiefs Actually Exposed in Seattle?

Things couldn't have gone much worse for the Kansas City Chiefs in their Sunday Night Football loss against the Seattle Seahawks. Still, KC remains at the top of the AFC with a 5-1 record and a lot of football still to be played.

What questions rose to the top of the Chiefs' list of uncertainties after their first loss of the year? Let's answer a few in this week's edition of the Chiefs On SI mailbag.

After this Seattle debacle, how bad have the Chiefs been exposed? -@MrEd315

I like the phrasing of this question, and I think I may surprise some people with my answer. How badly were the Chiefs exposed on Sunday? I'm not sure they were exposed at all!

The Chiefs' flaws in that game were glaring. Xavier Worthy, Jalen Royals and Andrew Armstrong are not a legitimate 1-2-3 trio of wide receivers, and the Chiefs know that. The Seahawks knew that.

The injuries at offensive tackle—down to OT3 on the left side and OT4 on the right—were no secret either. The Seahawks may have "exposed" the fact that if you can stop Kenneth Walker, you can stop that version of the Chiefs' offense, but we talked about that issue all week, leading up to the game.

The pass rush wasn't nearly good enough at rattling Sam Darnold, but it was the fourth game this year where they failed to record a sack; that's not a new issue either.

This whole winding road leads me to a potentially unsatisfying point: the Chiefs lost that game more dramatically than I would have expected, but not for any reasons that weren't already top-of-mind. Is that enough to soothe all of your Chief concerns? Absolutely not. But it is a silver lining, and better than losing a game for some surprising, unforeseen reason.

How would you divvy up blame for the poor offensive performance between QB play, personnel, and scheme? I feel like the QB play is not a given to be Tier 1 like it was prior to 2024. -@broccolirabe.bsky.social

Patrick Mahomes has been excellent this season, but I do think the Seattle loss included his worst game of the year. With memories of the way he's been caught "pressing" in the past as he's tried to overcome his surroundings in recent years, I think the uncertainty at offensive tackle and lack of any legitimate separation from his pass-catchers allowed Mahomes to rediscover some bad habits in Seattle.

Still, late in the game, Mahomes seemed to find his groove again before being let down by his supporting cast. The quarterback is, by far, the least of my worries.

I do think the coaching staff could have given Kenneth Walker a few more tries on the ground before completely giving up on the running game (though it was unproductive when they did try it), and I'd love to see Cyrus Allen get a longer look when none of the other pass-catchers are standing out. Ultimately, I think that the deficiencies of the players who were thrust into action on Sunday night played the biggest role of the three options presented in the question.

How do they get to 10 wins? -@joeybeckley.bsky.social

Keep playing the games. They're 5-1. They have plenty of issues to solve, and this mailbag has detailed several, but I'd be absolutely floored if they're not a playoff team with double-digit wins.

With the injuries at WR and tackle and the lack of any sort of pass rush, could the Chiefs actually do a little selling at the deadline instead of adding? -@mrproctober.bsky.social

If some team wants to acquire a non-vital piece from KC, Brett Veach should hear them out, sure. In the meantime, they're currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Even if that seems unlikely to hold, a 5-1 team quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes will not and should not be "sellers" at the deadline.

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