Seahawks Defense Only Source of Warmth in Loss to Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes

The Seattle Seahawks defense gave the team its only real chance of staying in the running with the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.

Frigid temperatures and chilly winds had a major effect on the Seattle Seahawks offense in Saturday's 24-10 Christmas Eve loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead.

But other than the heaters on the sidelines, it was Seattle's defense that provided the only source of hope and warmth for the Seahawks against an elite Chiefs offense led by superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Seattle held the Chiefs to their fourth-lowest point total of the season while simultaneously limiting Mahomes one yard shy of tying his lowest passing yards total (224) and lowest completion percentage (57.1) of the year.

The Seahawks, who just had cornerback Tariq Woolen and safety Quandre Diggs named to the Pro Bowl on Thursday, forced Kansas City into an uncharacteristic four three-and-outs and six punts.

After the Chiefs went up 17-0 at the end of the first half, they didn't score again until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Takeaways and big plays were hard to come by, but staying stout and limiting scoring opportunities was a theme for Seattle's defense on Saturday. 

But of course, you can only ask the defense to hold up against one of the NFL's best offenses for so long.

After Geno Smith's end zone interception in the fourth quarterback, the Chiefs used just five plays to go 80 yards, as Mahomes found star tight end Travis Kelce for back-to-back gains of 20 and 52 yards before the star quarterback took it in himself for a three-yard touchdown.

The game-sealing score, which came with just under five minutes left in the game, was Kansas City's first points of a second half that had been dominated by Seattle's defense, a unit that entered Saturday which numerous question marks after multiple weeks of poor performances.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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