Kansas City’s Week 7 matchup with Seattle comes with a built-in contradiction: the Chiefs just snapped a month-long sack drought, but their offensive tackle situation now looks like the kind of problem the Seahawks can exploit.
That tension is what makes Sunday night so interesting. The Chiefs are trying to carry over the defensive surge they showed in Week 6, when they finally ended their sack drought and made Justin Herbert miserable for an afternoon. But they also enter the game with both starting tackles out, leaving a thin margin for error against a Seattle front that is strongest in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Josh Simmons is on injured reserve and will miss at least the next four weeks, and Jaylon Moore is also out. That leaves Kansas City trying to patch together protection at the exact moment it needs stability most. Ezeudu is set to make his first start with the Chiefs against Seattle, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already unsettled line.
The timing is awkward for a team that has played five games and is still trying to find consistency. Kansas City’s Week 6 pass rush was a welcome change after a month without sacks, but one game does not erase the larger concern: the Chiefs still need that pressure to show up again, and they need it against a Seahawks team that can make life difficult in the trenches.
Seattle’s front is not the only problem. The Chiefs also have to deal with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has quickly become one of the league’s best receivers since last year. Kansas City needs to prioritize containing him, and that task falls in part to Nohl Williams and Mansoor Delane, who might be up to it. If Smith-Njigba gets loose, the Chiefs’ middle-of-the-pack pass defense — which has been giving up a little over 200 yards per game — could be forced into a longer night than it wants.
There is also the matter of Seattle’s own offensive structure. The Seahawks are 3-3, and their offense has been affected by the absence of Kenneth Walker, something Kansas City has benefited from this year. But that does not remove the central problem for the Chiefs: Seattle still brings enough pressure and enough talent to make the game hinge on whether Kansas City can protect its own quarterback while also getting after Seattle’s.
That is the matchup to watch. The Chiefs’ defense finally showed signs of life in Week 6, and players like Chris Jones will be expected to keep that momentum going. At the same time, Kansas City’s offense is walking into a game with both starting tackles out and two starting receivers sidelined as well, which only sharpens the pressure on the line to hold up.
If the Chiefs can keep their pass rush active and survive the protection issues up front, they give themselves a chance to control the game. If Seattle’s trenches win the night, Kansas City’s Week 7 outlook gets a lot more complicated.