Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Complete Week 11 Preview for Seattle
The Seattle Seahawks (6-3) take on the Kansas City Chiefs (6-3) at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 11 action. The Seahawks continued to utilize a more run-oriented offense and got several injured players back in the lineup en route to their victory over the New York Giants.
The Kansas City Chiefs knocked off the Buffalo Bills in Week 10, marking the team's fourth consecutive victory and giving them wins in six of their last seven games. Included in the Chiefs win streak are victories over the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams—two of the three teams to beat Seattle this year.
This week marks the first time Seattle enters a game as the underdog. The lines opened with Seattle favored by one but have since flipped to Kansas City being favored by one to two points, per Odds Shark. On the surface, the Chiefs and Seahawks are very similar teams, but let's take a quick look at each team's stats to date.
Seahawks and Chiefs 2014 Season Stats
| Seattle Seahawks | Category | Kansas City Chiefs |
|---|---|---|
| 359.4 (13th) | Total Offense | 340.0 (19th) |
| 25.4 (11th) | Scoring Offense | 24.1 (14th) |
| 194.4 (31st) | Passing Offense | 195.6 (30th) |
| 7.1 (20th) | Yards Per Attempt | 6.8 (25th) |
| 170.9 (1st) | Rushing Offense | 135.8 (5th) |
| 5.5 (1st) | Yards Per Attempt | 4.6 (6th) |
| 41.4 (14th) | 3rd-Down Percentage | 48.7 (3rd) |
| 307.0 (4th) | Total Defense | 320.9 (6th) |
| 21.2 (10th) | Scoring Defense | 16.8 (2nd) |
| 227.2 (8th) | Passing Defense | 205.3 (1st) |
| 6.8 (9th) | Yards Per Attempt | 6.7 (7th) |
| 79.8 (4th) | Rushing Defense | 115.6 (20th) |
| 3.2 (2nd) | Yards Per Attempt | 4.7 (30th) |
| 43.3 (23rd) | 3rd-Down Percentage | 34.5 (3rd) |
Seattle Seahawks Week 10 Recap
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The Seahawks ran roughshod over the New York Giants, racking up 350 yards on the ground in their 38-17 win. Marshawn Lynch rushed for a career-high four touchdowns and 140 yards, while Russell Wilson ran for 107 and a score of his own. It's the third time Wilson has rushed for more than 100 yards this season.
Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but those three games in which Wilson broke the century mark are the only times Seattle has gained more than 400 yards offensively. The passing game continued to struggle as Wilson threw for just 172 and two interceptions.
While Seattle's three turnovers in the game certainly kept things close heading into the fourth quarter, eventually the Seahawks run game and defense combined to generate a 21-point outburst in the fourth quarter.
While the team's more run-heavy approach has proved successful over the last two weeks, team's reliance on Wilson to run the ball rather than throw shines a light on the team's lackluster passing game.
News and Notes
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CenturyLink Field Selling Watered-Down Beer?
By now you've most likely heard, but reports are running rampant that the Seahawks may have been serving beers with lowered alcohol by volume levels, per USA Today. Four of the stadium's six beer choices were tested and found to have more than 0.3 percent less than advertised alcohol level. Federal law bans alcohol providers from selling beer less than 0.3 percent below the advertised content.
Allen Bradford Back With the Team
The Seahawks brought in some reinforcements at linebacker this week by signing Allen Bradford, who has spent time with the team each of the last four seasons, according to Pro Football Talk. The signing comes after tight end Zach Miller was placed on injured reserve, and due to injuries to LBs Bobby Wagner and Brock Coyle.
Quote of the Week
DT Kevin Williams to the Seattle Times on the challenges of the Kansas City run game:
"They definitely believe in the run game—they have two great running backs with [Jamaal] Charles and Knile Davis running the ball. Great perimeter guys, make you miss if you give them the opportunities. We just have to get off blocks, get to the ball, have a lot of guys around to gang tackle, not putting it on one guy to make the tackle, and I think we’ll be fine.
"
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Miller | TE | Injured Reserve |
| Bobby Wagner | LB | Out |
| Marshawn Lynch | RB | Probable |
| Doug Baldwin | WR | Probable |
| Tharold Simon | CB | Probable |
| Kam Chancellor | S | Questionable |
| Byron Maxwell | CB | Questionable |
| James Carpenter | OL | Questionable |
| Malcolm Smith | LB | Questionable |
| Eric Pinkins | DT | PUP |
| Stephen Schilling | C | Questionable |
| Michael Bennett | DE | Probable |
| Russell Okung | OL | Probable |
| Jordan Hill | DT | Doubtful |
| Brock Coyle | LB | Doubtful |
| Marcus Burley | CB | Questionable |
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X-Factors and Matchups to Watch
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RB Jamaal Charles vs. Seattle Front Seven
Jamaal Charles rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and had four catches for 20 yards against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10. Though he's yet to rush for over 100 yards in a game, Charles has consistently scored over the team's last four games.
Charles now has five touchdowns in Kansas City's last four games and has been targeted three-plus times over the same span. The Seahawks boast the league's second-ranked defense in yards per carry and fourth run defense, however.
No particular run-blocker has stood out along the Chiefs offensive line, per Pro Football Focus (login required). The top-ranked offensive lineman is center Rodney Hudson with a -0.4.
LB Justin Houston vs. Justin Britt
Justin Houston is a major threat on the Chiefs defense who warrants major attention. Houston has racked up 12 sacks in nine games, coming up empty on sacks in just two outings. Pro Football Focus rates Houston a +23.0, while Justin Britt is a -10.8.
Though the injury bug has certainly whittled down the Seahawks tight end position, Seattle will need to position Luke Willson to the right to give Britt some extra help throughout the game. With Houston on pace for a record-setting 24 sacks, the Seahawks would be wise to hand the ball off to wear him down early.
X-Factor: QB Russell Wilson vs. CB Sean Smith
Barring another 100-yard rushing day from Russell Wilson, the Seattle offense could find itself growing stagnant like it has several times since the Percy Harvin trade. Other than a pretty 60-yard throw to Jermaine Kearse, Wilson really struggled as a passer Sunday.
He was sensational as a runner, however, and his one-yard bootleg touchdown with 5:19 remaining closed the scoring for Seattle. Wilson has completed about 56 percent of his throws over the last three games, thrown for less than 200 yards in each contest and thrown one touchdown in three interceptions in that span.
Sean Smith has been dominant in coverage for Kansas City, posting a +7.0 in pass coverage and allowed an average of about 44 yards receiving per game. The only touchdowns he's allowed came Week 1 against the Titans. Expect to see him mactch up with Doug Baldwin and make things difficult for Wilson.
Prediction
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The returns of Russell Okung and Max Unger to the offensive line proved to be a major boon to the Seahawks running game last week. While 350 yards rushing is highly unlikely to be reproduced, it's certainly something Seattle will attempt to do against the Chiefs' poor run defense.
Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell has placed an emphasis on getting the ball to Marshawn Lynch more often over the last two weeks and it has worked. Whether the Chiefs will be able to do anything to slow Lynch down will have a tremendous effect on the outcome of this game.
If they can't, then Wilson should chip in with some scrambles to help keep the offense on the field. The Chiefs have the league's top pass defense, but the Seahawks don't throw the ball anyway.
Offensively for Kansas City, though running the ball is certainly a strength, the Dallas Cowboys are the only team to have any real success on the ground.
Prediction: SEA 26, SF 20
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