The Kansas City Chiefs’ perfect season is over. On Sunday Night Football in Week 7, the Seattle Seahawks produced one of the shocks of the NFL season so far, beating Kansas City 20-3 at Lumen Field and handing the defending champions’ rivals their first defeat of the year.
Kansas City arrived in Seattle at 5-0, among the last undefeated teams in the league. They left at 5-1, shut down for almost the entire night by a Seattle defence that had already won Super Bowl LX earlier this year and clearly had no interest in being a footnote in someone else’s perfect season.
A slow burn, then a shutdown
The first quarter ended scoreless, and for a while it looked like a classic primetime chess match. Then Seattle took control and never gave it back.
Jason Myers opened the scoring with a 25-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. Minutes later, Seattle’s defence struck: Ty Okada intercepted Patrick Mahomes with six minutes left in the half, shifting momentum firmly to the home side.
Shortly before halftime, Sam Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 28-yard touchdown, and Seattle went into the break 10-0 up. Kansas City’s night got no better after it. Harrison Butker missed a 58-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, a miss that summed up a frustrating evening for the Chiefs’ usually reliable kicker.
Seattle stretched the lead to 13-0 in the third quarter on Myers’ 35-yard field goal, and although Butker finally got Kansas City on the board with a 50-yard kick to make it 13-3, the comeback never came. Butker missed again in the fourth quarter, this time from 45 yards with just over eight minutes left, and Emanuel Wilson’s 21-yard touchdown run sealed it at 20-3.
Mahomes held, Darnold steady
The numbers tell the story of a night when Kansas City’s offence simply could not get going. Mahomes was intercepted, the running game never found rhythm, and the Chiefs managed only a single field goal against a Seattle defence that entered the game as the NFL’s top-ranked pass defence.
Darnold, by contrast, did exactly what Seattle needed. The nine-year veteran, who had looked less than impressive in last week’s 17-14 loss to Denver, bounced back with a composed performance, including the crucial touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba just before halftime.
Seattle had ruled out running back Zach Charbonnet for the game, but it hardly mattered. Wilson’s late touchdown was the exclamation mark on a team performance built on defence, field position and patience.
What the end of the perfect season means for both teams
For Seattle, the win is a statement. At 3-3 coming in, the Seahawks were still trying to find their footing after their Super Bowl triumph. Ending Kansas City’s perfect season, at home, in primetime, by 17 points, is the kind of result that can reset a season.
For Kansas City, the defeat is a reality check rather than a crisis. At 5-1, the Chiefs remain firmly in contention, and one bad night in Seattle does not erase five wins. But the manner of the loss – held to three points, Mahomes intercepted, two Butker misses – will give future opponents a blueprint, and a reason to believe.
The pre-game prediction, incidentally, had Kansas City winning 20-17. Football, as ever, had other ideas.
Before the game, much of the talk had centred on Kenneth Walker, the running back returning to Seattle for the first time since signing a three-year, $43 million contract with Kansas City in the offseason. In the end, the night belonged not to a returning star, but to a Seattle defence that reminded everyone why it is the defending champion’s defence – and why the road through the NFC still goes through Lumen Field.
Summary: the perfect season ends at 20-3
In short, the Seattle Seahawks ended Kansas City’s perfect season with a 20-3 win at Lumen Field on Sunday Night Football in Week 7.
Seattle led 10-0 at halftime, stretched the lead to 13-0 in the third quarter, and sealed the win when Emanuel Wilson’s 21-yard touchdown run made it 20-3.
The result ended Kansas City’s perfect season and left the Chiefs at 5-1, held to three points, with Mahomes intercepted and two Butker misses.
Source: USA Today / Chiefs Wire live updates, October 25, 2026. Scores and play details are as reported in that live blog.