While the Seahawks defense played lights out against the Chiefs, quarterback Sam Darnoldand the offense were able to provide a complimentary performance.

Darnold finished 20-of-28 passing for 257 yards with one touchdown and one interception in Sunday night's 20-3 win. He also added 17 yards rushing, showing off some speed on two scrambles that converted a couple of key first downs.

Darnold's play was an integral part of a cleaner, more effective Seahawks offense in Week 7 following a mistake-filled loss where turnovers proved costly. It was a follow-up performance that had his Seahawks teammates praising their quarterback.

"What a great, great game Sam played," Jaxon Smith-Njigba said. "He came out here, he led us to this win, being able to use his feet when there's nothing there and create plays and lead us. It was big time to see him step up like that. That's just the player and person he is. That's why we love him."

Cooper Kupp added: "He did an unbelievable job. Unbelievable job out there. His command, his ability to get plays in and out, his command of the huddle. At the line of scrimmage, getting things fixed, getting guys organized, and then obviously playing decisive. All those third downs that you guys have talked about, he is really clicking through with progressions and going through it one at a time, playing in rhythm with his feet and his eyes all in one. It's really good. It's really cool to see. That's who he is, that's what we expect from him, and that's who he is going to continue to be because that's who Sam (Darnold) is."

The offense, in general, looked to be operating better compared to the most recent games, with the offensive line holding up and not allowing a sack against the Chiefs after allowing five in Week 6.

"They played a helluva game keeping Sam clean," Smith-Njigba said. "And then Sam making the right reads. Like I said, tucking it when he had to and us receivers we understand we need to stay on the field. That's how you beat great teams, by staying on the field. We did that tonight. We executed, and it felt good."

Guard Grey Zabel said: "The media can say what they want about Sam (Darnold), but Sam's one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and when we protect him, and keep him upright, he's one of the best guys in the league, and I'll ride or die for that guy. He's unbelievable, and I'm super excited for his future."

An area of focus for Seattle has been third-down conversions. The Seahawks entered Week 7 ranking near the bottom of the league in third-down success rate, but succeeded on 11 of their 16 third downs on Sunday, good for a 68.8 percent conversion rate. Those third-down conversions are the most by the Seahawks since 1991, when play-by-play data started being tracked, and is the highest by any team in as many attempts in the NFL this season, per NFL Research.

"Third down has been a point of emphasis over the last few weeks, especially this week," Macdonald said. "Offensively I'm really proud of the process that we've had. The guys went to work. It was a great team effort. Brian (Fleury) led the charge. I thought we came up with some really great ideas and solutions… Some really good stuff by our offensive staff."

While the Seahawks were able to extend drives by converting on third down, they also ran the ball better and more effectively than they have in recent weeks, which allowed more opportunities in the passing game.

"I thought we ran the ball more effectively," Macdonald said. "There's some procedural things, especially early, that I felt like we can attack and be cleaner on that front so we can stay on the attack offensively, which I felt that today. It was cleaner football. I thought our protection plan was great. Obviously the third down stuff, we talked about that earlier. Definitely felt more like how we want to play the game."

Seattle also managed to get more players involved in the passing game, but it was no surprise that Smith-Njigba led the offensive with 150 receiving yards and one touchdown.

"I think we distributed the field well," Kupp said. "Like you said, we did a great job getting through progressions and taking advantage of the looks that the defense was giving us. Guys just playing fast, decisive football. Some of those conversions are Sam's (Darnold) fifth read, getting the ball into one of the playmaker's hands and then go use your legs to get the first down, so great execution across the board there with that. Of course, there is plenty of stuff to grow from and we'll watch film and make the adjustments, but that's what we expect. That's what we expect from this game. There's a good foundation, but certainly a lot to build on too."

Though the offense saw great success on third downs Sunday, Seattle had three empty trips to the red zone, one of which ended with a Darnold interception in the end zone just before halftime. While that figures to be something the Seahawks aim to improve on going forward, it's all part of a process for the reigning Super Bowl champions.

"I think our guys understand that there's more levels to where we can go," Macdonald said. "So I hope they feel the sense of urgency that we get there because it is stuff we can control. I'm talking about procedural stuff, red-zone stuff, negative plays… All those things we've been attacking. But of course, the guys have been working so hard. You want that for them. We want them to feel what it feels like to play our brand of ball again. You want our fans to feel it, too. I think that they can feel we're still a championship-caliber team. That's what we're facing."