We are just hours away from kickoff as the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs travel to Seattle to take on the 3-3 defending Super Bowl champions in primetime. Say what you will about the imperfections from KC through their five wins this year. In the early going of every season, stacking wins is all important, and that's what Andy Reid and company have done.
As for Seattle, defending the Lombardi Trophy has not come easy. What began as a 3-1 start has turned into two straight losses in which quarterback Sam Darnold has thrown two interceptions in each of the Seahawks' trio of losses.
The Seahawks' run game has been nonexistent, and the passing game can seemingly only get consistent production from Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Mike MacDonald's defense remains stacked with talent, ranking fifth in points (20.3) and first in yards (265.8) allowed per game.
With a multitude of key cogs out of the Chiefs' starting offense due to injury, and a defense still trying to find its way, Kansas City needs to lean on their young playmakers to begin to emerge a third of the way into the season.
Kansas City will need to lean on its young core to match Seattle's loaded roster
Cyrus Allen
For the life of me, I cannot understand why the Chiefs remain so reluctant to put Cyrus Allen on the field. In a game without Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, Allen played just nine snaps compared to 40-plus snaps from both Jalen Royals and Andrew Armstrong.
All the entire team could talk about during offseason workouts was how good the fifth-round rookie looked and how big of a part he would play in the offense. We've yet to see him truly receive the opportunity. Hopefully this is a game where Reid finally unleashes Allen against arguably the best secondary in the NFL.
Peter Woods
Woods, one of two first-round picks by the Chiefs this past year, had his best performance of his young career last week versus the Chargers. He collected half a sack, alongside Chris Jones, recorded 4 total tackles, and 1 QB hit.
The Chiefs have been able to crash the pocket fairly consistently all season, but have yet to get the opposing signal-caller on the ground. But facing a guy like Darnold, who is already turnover-prone and not playing his best ball, if Woods can create some havoc from the inside on some rush plays, it might be the factor between a throwaway and a turnover.
Josh Ezeudu
I wouldn't be too surprised if not many Chiefs fans knew who Josh Ezeudu was. KC traded for the former New York Giants right tackle prior to the start of the season in exchange for a 2028 7th-round pick. With Jaylon Moore out of the lineup with a concussion, he'll get his first start as a Chief.
Ezeudu is being thrown into the fire, essentially. Seattle possesses one of the scarier and deeper pass rushes in the league. He'll be matched up against multiple bodies throughout, including DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, and Derick Hall, among others, who all have the ability to truly change the complexion of a game.
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