Three ways the Seahawks can beat the Chiefs in week 16

The Seahawks need a win on Sunday, sure. But they don’t have to win against the Chiefs. Still, here are three ways they can defeat KC.

The Seahawks are one win away from the playoffs. Sort of. They can lose to the Chiefs and it doesn’t really matter. But if they lose in the final week of the season to the Cardinals they could miss the playoffs. It’s like your relationship status on Facebook: Complicated.

I would go into how Seattle can make the playoffs now but like you not working better on your relationship, I am just too lazy to do it. Plus, wouldn’t that make for yet another article that I could try to get you to read. (Of course, it would. You may not read it but I will probably write it.)

The point of this article is to let you know how the Seahawks can beat Kansas City on Sunday. A Seattle win is not likely. Heck, they aren’t even favored. But this Seattle team has been exceeding expectations all season long so what is one more win no one expected them to get?

Like I said, Seattle needs a win against the Cardinals and not really against the Chiefs. A win over Kansas City would only be action green gravy on a season with a bunch of lovely food.

But let’s for now forget about that final Cardinals game. We can worry about that around 8:30 pm PT on Sunday. Seattle might be missing a few key players against the Chiefs, but they can still defeat the Chiefs. And here are three ways how.

Get Tyler Lockett the ball a lot

The Chiefs have a special player in wideout Tyreek Hill. Hill is incredibly fast and makes defensive players look foolish. But guess what? Seattle also has a player a lot like Hill in Tyler Lockett. Hill has 500 yards more receiving this year than does Lockett. And Hill has 12 total touchdowns this season while Lockett has 9.

But when you think about how Hill has touched the ball 97 times on offense while Lockett has just 63 touches it certainly makes one aware of just how good Lockett is. Especially when Hill is averaging less than one yard more per touch than Lockett.

Lockett has four touchdown receptions in 2018 that have gone for 39 yards or more. Hill has three such receptions. I am not trying to downplay Hill’s greatness; He is a great receiver. But Lockett isn’t far behind him. And the Seahawks should showcase Lockett on Sunday.

Everyone knows that Seattle is going to run the ball a lot against anybody, but especially this week against Kansas City. Seattle is good at running the ball and the Chiefs are generally bad at stopping the run. This focus on stopping the run should allow Lockett to be free at times in the Chiefs’ not-great secondary. Play action from Russell Wilson to Lockett anyone? Bubble screen? Jet sweep?

Seattle needs to get Lockett the ball in a multitude of ways on Sunday. Maybe Lockett can get 63 touches alone against the Chiefs? I joke. Only a bit, though.

The easy one: Give the ball to Chris Carson

Chris Carson is just 87 yards away from 1,000 for the season. If he doesn’t get past that mark against the Chiefs then something bad has happened during the game. Seattle is really good at running the ball in 2018. In fact, they are first in the NFL in yards-per-game.

But there is more. Seattle runs the second-most in the NFL, only behind the Baltimore Ravens. Seattle, though, is still eighth in the league in yards-per-attempt. This means even though other teams know Seattle is going to run the ball they cannot stop them very often.

The Seahawks’ best back, of course, is Carson. Carson would already be over 1,000 yards for the season but he has missed two games due to injury. In week three against the Cowboys, Carson ran the ball 32 times. Against the Lions in week eight, he ran 25 times. This Sunday against the Chiefs, Carson needs to get 30 carries.

The Chiefs statistically do poorly against the run. They are 26th in the league giving up an average of 126.9 yards per game on the ground. The weird thing is they are 14th in the NFL in rushing attempts per game by the opposing offense. This means when teams do run against the Chiefs they do so really well. Kansas City is last in yards per rush giving up 5 yards per carry.

Another weird thing is that the longest run against the Chiefs this year is just 30 yards. Every other team in the NFL has given up a longer run except one. This means teams that do rush well against Kansas City do so in the middle of the field. So, say hello to my little Chris Carson!

Only he isn’t little. Carson is a beast. He gets a bunch of his yards right up the middle where the Chiefs are softest. And Carson will be a beast on Sunday against the Chiefs, if Seattle gets him the ball enough.

12s can affect this game

There used to be a time not too long ago when 12s at CenturyLink would never have been called out by Pete Carroll for not making enough noise. This year, Carroll has done just that. Noise needs to be made from the fanbase that twice broke the Guinness World Book of Records…um…record for loudest crowd noise.

The other stadium in the NFL that gets as loud as CenturyLink is Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. But the Chiefs play in that stadium and aren’t playing at home. When the Chiefs have the ball at Arrowhead, the crowd is quiet. But Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense need to rudely welcomed by screaming 12s on Sunday.

Mahomes is an excellent young quarterback but he hasn’t played in a stadium as loud as CenturyLink can be. Ever. 12s need to force Mahomes into adjusting how the plays are called. Any extra time will help a banged up Seahawks defense. On Sunday, 12s can truly be the 12th person on the field and help Seattle win the game.

Summary

Being honest, Sunday’s game for Seattle is a tough one. They have injured players in the secondary going head-to-head with an excellent Chiefs passing attack. Plus, Kansas City needs to win the game more than Seattle does. Kansas City is fighting for home-field advantage. Seattle needs a win more in week 17 than they do in week 16.

Still, if Seattle truly is a good team and wants to make noise in the playoffs, beating a team like the Chiefs will do wonders for confidence. And a Seahawks win in week 16 makes things a little less…well, complicated in week 17.