Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs Lose 20-3: What Went Wrong

For five weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs looked like the NFL's best offense. Then they went to Seattle. The Seahawks beat Kansas City 20-3 on "Sunday Night Football" on Oct. 25, 2026, handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season and leaving Patrick Mahomes with one of the worst stat lines of his career, according to Pro Football Reference's box score. Three days later, "Patrick Mahomes" is still one of the most-searched terms in the U.S. on Google Trends as fans ask the same question: was this a one-week blip or a warning sign? Here is what happened, what the numbers say and what comes next.

Chiefs vs. Seahawks: the final score and key numbers

Seattle led 10-0 at halftime and never let Kansas City into the game. The Chiefs' only points came on a third-quarter field goal, per Pro Football Reference.

Patrick Mahomes' stats

• Passing: 19 of 33 for 165 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, 58.3 passer rating.
• Sacks: one, for 2 yards.
• Rushing: two carries for 14 yards.

The interception came in the second quarter, when Seahawks defensive back Ty Okada picked off a pass thrown under pressure from safety Nick Emmanwori, Seahawks.com reported.

Team numbers that stand out

According to NFL.com, Kansas City finished with just 213 total yards, went 3 of 11 on third down, managed 11 first downs and averaged 4.3 yards per play. Seahawks.com said the 213 yards and 11 first downs were both franchise lows with Mahomes as the starter, and the 3 points matched the fewest the Chiefs have scored in a Mahomes start.

Why Mahomes and the Chiefs are trending

The loss broke several streaks at once, which is why searches for Mahomes jumped this week.

• No red zone trip. It was the first time in a Mahomes start that the Chiefs never reached the red zone, NFL.com and Seahawks.com both noted.
• No touchdown. NFL.com said it was only the second full game of Mahomes' career in which Kansas City failed to score a touchdown. The other was a 24-9 loss to Denver in Week 8 of 2023.
• A rare blowout. The Kansas City Star's Sam McDowell counted only 36 losses in Mahomes' career, playoffs included, and only three regular-season blowouts. The other two came three weeks apart in 2021, against Buffalo and Tennessee.
• A strong start erased. Before Sunday, the Chiefs led the league at 414 yards per game and ranked fifth in scoring at 28 points per game, according to Seahawks.com.

Kenneth Walker III's tough return to Seattle

Part of the story was personal. Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl MVP for Seattle last season, signed with Kansas City in the offseason and entered Sunday averaging a league-leading 133 rushing yards per game, the Associated Press reported via ESPN. Seattle held him to 36 yards on 14 carries.

NFL.com said that ended Walker's streak of 11 straight games with at least 50 rushing yards, playoffs included. Seahawks.com added that Seattle has now gone 36 straight games, postseason included, without allowing an individual 100-yard rusher.

Seattle's side: Smith-Njigba and the defense

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and Sam Darnold threw for 257 yards, per ESPN's recap. Emanuel Wilson ran 24 times for 100 yards and a score. NFL.com noted Smith-Njigba is only the fourth player in the Super Bowl era with at least 100 receiving yards in six of his team's first seven games.

The win snapped a two-game skid for Seattle, which improved to 4-3. Coach Mike Macdonald's defense blitzed only rarely and still kept Mahomes uncomfortable, which matters for what comes next.

Five problems the loss exposed

The Kansas City Star broke down five areas that Seattle exploited. In short:

1. Pressure from the offensive tackles

Mahomes faced 16 pressures, more than in any of the Chiefs' five wins, and Seattle got there while blitzing just 16.7% of the time, the Star said, citing PFF tracking. With Josh Simmons on injured reserve and Jaylon Moore out with a concussion, backup tackles Joshua Ezeudu and Kahlil Benson allowed a combined nine pressures.

2. Receivers not getting open

Kansas City receivers dropped four passes, the most of any team in Week 7, according to the Star. Xavier Worthy was targeted six times for 11 yards. The Star said the expected return of Rashee Rice from a hamstring injury should help.

3. Harrison Butker's kicking

The AP headline on the game noted Harrison Butker missed two more kicks. The Star, citing AP's Josh Dubow, said Butker has missed 15 kicks since the start of the 2025 season, the second most in the NFL.

4. A quiet pass rush

Chris Jones had no quarterback pressures in Seattle, and the Chiefs rank third-lowest in the league in sack rate at 3.4% of dropbacks, the Star reported.

5. Mahomes himself

The Star said Mahomes ranked last among quarterbacks in Week 7 in completion percentage over expected, at minus-13.2%, and left clean pockets too early at times. History is on his side, though: in the eight previous games after he posted a passer rating under 70 (excluding one season finale), his average passer rating the next week was 100.3, the Star found.

Are the Chiefs in trouble?

One loss does not sink a 5-1 team. Kansas City is still 3-0 against AFC West opponents this season, The Kansas City Star noted, and the Star's analysis called most of the flaws fixable, at least in part. The bigger concern is timing. The Star described the Chiefs as entering "the most difficult part of their schedule," and the tackle injuries are unlikely to clear up quickly.

The last time Mahomes absorbed two lopsided regular-season losses, in 2021, the Chiefs fell to 3-4 and then won eight straight games, the Star recalled.

Who do the Chiefs play next?

Source: Chiefs.com game center and The Kansas City Star.

Kansas City beat Denver 31-10 in the season opener, when Walker ran for 173 yards, the Star reported. Note that Nov. 1 is also the day daylight saving time ends, so clocks fall back an hour that morning; see our guide to daylight saving time ending in 2026.

The bottom line

Seattle's 20-3 win was the most complete shutdown of a Mahomes-led offense in years: no touchdowns, no red zone trips and only 213 yards. The Chiefs are still 5-1, but protection, receiver play and kicking all need answers before a road trip to 5-2 Denver on Nov. 1. For more NFL coverage, see what's next for the Cowboys after their win over the Eagles, plus the latest AP Top 25 college football poll.

Game statistics come from Pro Football Reference, ESPN, NFL.com and Seahawks.com; analysis figures are as reported by The Kansas City Star as of Oct. 28, 2026. Kickoff times and TV details can change.