Much of the attention before kickoff was on Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III. He was the Super Bowl LX MVP with Seattle, then signed a three-year contract with Kansas City in the offseason. Reports put the deal at between $43 million and $45 million. Sunday was his first game against his old team. He entered Week 7 leading the league in rushing yards and yards per carry, with 665 rushing yards and eight all-purpose touchdowns in five games. Two more touchdowns would give him a career-high 10 for the season. They would also make him the first player since 1970 to score multiple touchdowns in five of his team's first six games.

Walker was running into a defense that has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 35 straight games. Seattle's pass defense ranked first in the league, which put Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes up against the NFL's best coverage unit. Kansas City played without receiver Rashee Rice.

Seattle's own backfield was thin. Rookie Jadarian Price was on injured reserve with a chest injury, and Zach Charbonnet was still recovering from a torn ACL. Quarterback Sam Darnold's numbers have dropped from last season. His interception rate is a career-worst 4.7%, he is completing 60.4% of his passes and he averages 6.9 yards per attempt. The Seahawks lost 17-14 to the Denver Broncos the week before and had dropped three of their previous four games.

Seattle's main threat through the air has been receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had 49 catches for 717 yards and seven touchdowns through six games. He was expected to face Chiefs rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane, the sixth overall pick. Delane had allowed a 63.8 passer rating when targeted.

Several Chiefs veterans came in close to milestones. Tight end Travis Kelce, averaging 59.6 yards per game, needed three catches to pass Marvin Harrison for the most receptions in a player's first 14 seasons. He was also 35 yards from breaking a Tony Gonzalez franchise record. Defensive tackle Chris Jones, who got his first half-sack of the season in Week 6, needed 1.5 sacks to tie Tamba Hali for second on the Chiefs' career list.

Seattle was favored in the BetMGM odds. NBC carried the game nationally, with Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth calling it.