Chiefs vs. Seahawks: NFL Week 7 Preview, Score Predictions

The Kansas City Chiefs are back in prime time this weekend, taking center stage at Lumen Field in a matter of hours against a feisty Seattle Seahawks squad that's still finding its way a bit after winning the Super Bowl earlier this calendar year.

Don't let the home team's offensive struggles fool you, though, as this remains one of the premier clubs in the NFL. Head coach Mike Macdonald's group might have the game's best wide receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and the Seahawks' defense is in the conversation for being football's most elite unit once again.

Kansas City has its work cut out for it in what could be a tough road game, but one thing this year's team has shown is an abundance of grit. Will Sunday Night Football be more of the same?

How might today's game unfold? The Kansas City Chiefs On SI crew makes its predictions for Week 7 of the regular season.

Joshua Brisco: Between the Seahawks’ offensive inconsistencies and the Chiefs’ offensive injuries, this feels like a low-scoring, wire-to-wire affair between two teams with elite elements in some areas and significant questions in others. Ultimately, fitting the narrative of the week perfectly, Kenneth Walker should be the key to this game for both teams.

Jordan Foote: Going into Seattle and securing a win is easily the toughest ask of the Chiefs through the first month-and-a-half of the season. The Seahawks' defense, even while banged up, is amazing. On the other side of the ball, however, there's next to no run game. That's had a negative impact on quarterback Sam Darnold, who also isn't sniffing the production he found a season ago.

Week 7's tilt could go either way, but I'll side with the offense I believe in much more. Minus wideout Rashee Rice and right tackle Jaylon Moore, look for this one to be a statement game for one or both of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and running back Kenneth Walker III in hostile territory.

Joshua Schulman: Kenneth Walker is set to return to face the franchise he won a Super Bowl with less than nine months ago, and he'll be looking to make his former team regret letting him walk. He and Jaxon Smith-Njigba headline one of the most exciting Sunday Night Football contests in recent memory.

There's a generational quarterback in Patrick Mahomes squaring off against a generational defense that has picked up where it left off a season ago, despite the offense's inconsistencies.

Seattle's slow start has actually placed it out of the playoff picture, and a home loss before another prime-time showdown against the Bears would be disastrous. I think the Seahawks understand the importance of this matchup and will take advantage of their 10 days of rest.

Given the Chiefs' shaky kicking game and a lack of proven offensive weapons outside of Walker in what should be a low-scoring contest, I think Mike Macdonald and Co. narrowly steal one to hand Kansas City its first loss.

Tyler Brown: This one has the look of a defensive rock fight. Seattle’s passing defense ranks first in the NFL, allowing just 141 yards per game, and Kansas City’s defense has held opponents under 20 points in most of its wins. The ingredients are there for a low-scoring grind from start to finish.

That said, the Chiefs are the number one offense in the NFL for a reason. Seattle’s defense may be able to slow down Walker or Mahomes, but doing both simultaneously is a different ask entirely. If the run game gets going, the play-action attack opens up. If Mahomes starts finding his receivers, the box opens up for Walker. At some point, one of those two is going to win.

On the other side, if Sam Darnold can buy time in the pocket, Smith-Njigba is going to get loose. The Chiefs’ defense just has to make sure that happens once or twice rather than repeatedly.

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