The Seattle Seahawks are as cold as the winter storm hitting the Pacific Northwest, having lost four of their last five games, including two-straight. They will attempt to warm back up in frigid Kansas City, where it is expected to be 15 degrees, to play the red hot Chiefs.
Seattle is sitting at 7-7 with their playoff hopes on life support, and they couldn’t have drawn a worse matchup. Since his emergence in 2018, the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes under center have been the class of the NFL and one of the most unstoppable forces in all of sports. The Seahawks will take them on at Arrowhead Stadium, where losing is not something the Chiefs are accustomed to in recent years, especially during December where they have gone 9-1 since 2018.
Actually, in Mahomes’ career he has accumulated an astonishing 19-3 record during December in his entire career. Interestingly though, one of the rare losses did come at the hands of the Seahawks, who outlasted him in a 38-31 shootout at Lumen Field.
The Seahawks are on a bit of a skid, but the Chiefs have looked unusually suspect in the last two weeks. Against the Broncos, Kansas City led 27-0 but allowed Denver back into the game and had to hold on for a 34-28 win. Last week, the Chiefs barely escaped Houston with a 30-24 overtime win over the Texans – the worst team in the league.
The optimist in me says the Seahawks have surprised us plenty in the past with big games against prime opponents. They’re backed in a corner, desperate, and fighting for their playoff lives, while the Chiefs have already sewn up their seventh consecutive division title.
But the realist in me says I’m not sure how the Seahawks defense will be able to stop the living machine that is Patrick Mahomes. Kansas City’s defense isn’t great either, but I am not sure what to make of the Seahawks offense without Tyler Lockett. If Seattle can somehow figure out how to run the ball effectively again, they might be able to make this a close fight. But in the end, I’m having a hard time seeing an upset on Saturday.
Prediction – Chiefs over Seahawks 31-17.
