Kenneth Walker III left Seattle in February with a Super Bowl MVP trophy. Eight months later, he’s heading back to Lumen Field in Chiefs red, leading the NFL in rushing and asking his former teammates to tackle him.

You couldn’t script a stranger return.

Seattle's 3-3 and has dropped two straight. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce bring the usual star power, but Walker’s return adds a more personal edge to a game that’s already loaded with stakes. Can the defending champions still play the kind of football that won them a title, or has Kansas City found too many ways to beat them?

Kickoff is Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Lumen Field will be loud — and this matchup should give everyone plenty to talk about.

Seattle’s Defense Can Make This Difficult

The Chiefs are averaging 414 yards a game, which leads the league. Mahomes has thrown nine touchdowns and three interceptions, and Kelce is still the guy he looks for when a drive needs rescuing. Kansas City can absolutely beat just about any defense through the air.

Now they can hand the ball to Walker, too. He’s rushed for 665 yards and six touchdowns in five games. He’s averaging 6.3 yards a carry, and that kind of production changes everything. It gives Mahomes shorter third downs and makes it a lot harder for a defense to sit back in coverage.

Seattle does have a real answer. Opponents are averaging just 3.5 yards a carry against Mike Macdonald’s defense, and no individual runner has topped 100 yards against the Seahawks in their last 35 games, playoffs included. Walker's done it four times in five starts with Kansas City. Something’s got to give.

The passing matchup is just as interesting. Kansas City creates explosive plays at one of the league’s highest rates, while Seattle gives them up at the lowest rate in the NFL. The Seahawks have 16 sacks and seven interceptions, and they're No. 1 in passing yards allowed.

The Chiefs are also coming in a little banged up. Starting right tackle Jaylon Moore and receiver Rashee Rice are out, and Josh Simmons — their projected left tackle — is on injured reserve. Kelce practiced on a limited basis with an ankle injury but should be fine come game time.

Seattle may be able to make Mahomes uncomfortable without sending the whole defense after him, especially with that crowd helping the pass rush.

That’s the path to an upset: tackle Walker before a small crease turns into a big play, keep the deep shots in front of you, and make Kansas City earn every point, one drive at a time.

Seattle Has To Stop Giving Their Defense Extra Work

The Seahawks’ defense has already shown they can do their part. Against San Francisco, they gave up 269 yards, but Seattle still lost 32-29 after four turnovers turned into 21 points for the 49ers. In Denver, the defense held the Broncos to 168 yards. Seattle lost that one in overtime after Sam Darnold’s second interception put Denver in position for the winning field goal.

That’s a brutal way to lose. And lately, it’s starting to feel a little too familiar.

Seattle's turned the ball over 10 times in their three losses. Darnold's thrown seven interceptions this season, with six coming in those games. He has to be better, no question. The protection has to be better, too. He was sacked five timesagainst the 49ers and another five times against the Broncos.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba gives Seattle an answer that doesn’t depend on Darnold having a perfect pocket. He leads the league with 49 catches, 717 yards, and seven receiving touchdowns. Even in the loss to Denver, he caught 12 passes for 134 yards. Getting him involved early, then using Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed to keep the chains moving, could help Darnold avoid spending the night trying to bail the offense out of third-and-long.

The run game needs to chip in, too. Emanuel Wilson has 303 yards on 87 carries, and Seattle will be without Zach Charbonnet again. Anthony Bradford coming back in at right guard should help the blocking, but there’s no point pretending Seattle can replace Walker with one guy. A few solid runs on early downs would go a long way toward keeping the offense from becoming so predictable.

Kansas City’s defense isn’t going to give Darnold much room to mess around. The Chiefs have allowed just four passing touchdowns, and they sacked Justin Herbert four times in last week’s 22-6 win over the Chargers. If Kansas City jumps out early, Seattle could end up in exactly the kind of game they need to avoid: Darnold dropping back over and over while Patrick Mahomes gets extra chances.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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