Seahawks Defense 'Went Out There And Balled' In Preseason Win Over The Chiefs

The Seahawks defense was part of an overall dominant effort in Friday night’s 33-16 win over the Chiefs.

Aug 16, 2025 at 12:11 AM

John Boyle

Seahawks.com Senior Reporter

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The Seahawks starting defense had already allowed a pair of third-and-short conversions to the Chiefs when Kansas City elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Seattle 15-yard line.

Unhappy with how they had been playing in what they knew might be their only series of the game, those defensive starters, led by veteran safety Julian Love, came up with a big play to end the drive and set the tone for what would be a very strong day for the defense in a 33-16 preseason win over Kansas City.

On that fourth-down play, Chiefs fullback Carson Steele took a handoff, then leapt at the line of scrimmage in search of the yard he needed to move the chains, but Love, a seventh-year veteran whose spot in the starting lineup is secure, didn't hesitate to take on a player who outweighs him by 33 pounds, in a preseason game, and stop him in his tracks. With that stop, the Seahawks got off the field without allowing any point, and while the starters were done for the night, the rest of Seattle's defensive players put forth a strong effort throughout the evening to put on display the talent and depth the Seahawks have on that side of the ball.

"These guys got a lot of pride to them, man," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "That was a heck of a play. In order for (Love) to make that, the D-line has to be stout. It's a tough play to stop in short yardage. Julian shot his gun and made a great play. That was a team stop right there."

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With the Seahawks putting up 33 points, 477 total yards, 29 first downs and 268 rushing yards, and doing so in a new scheme under a new offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, the offense was naturally the biggest story of Friday's win.

But what shouldn't be overlooked in Friday's game is what the Seahawks were able to do on defense. Yes, the Chiefs rested a few of their top starters, most notably quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, but most of the rest of their offensive starters were in on that opening drive, after which the Seahawks also pulled their starters. And in a battle of second and third-string units, Seattle's defense clearly had the upper hand, limiting Kansas City to 156 total yards and nine first downs.

Not including drives at the end of the first half and the end of the game, Kansas City had seven possessions, only two of which ended in scores, a second quarter touchdown and a third quarter field goal—their other touchdown came on a punt return—while the other five ended in a turnover on downs, a safety and three punts.

"That's what I was most excited about today," Love said of Seattle's young depth stepping up. "Those guys were balling. There were very little explosives, the DBs were tackling well today, the D-line, those young boys up there were getting it. Across the board, it was just exciting to see."

And as good as Love's fourth-down stop was, it might not have been the defense's best play of the game. After Seattle's offense got stopped going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, the very next play saw third-year nose tackle Brandon Pili shoot into the backfield to tackle Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell in the end zone for a safety.

"We lined up and they were in a heavy formation, so I knew they were going to run the ball and I was saying to Bubba [Thomas] right next to me, I was like 'Man, we should run a stunt here,'" Pili said. "And sure enough they called on that and we ran it to perfection. I just hit the hole. The flow was going to me, so I just took the step, hit the hole and got vertical."

The defense finishing the way it did was especially rewarding for those young players after the Seahawks were unable to hold onto a 16-3 halftime lead against the Raiders in a game that ended in a tie.

"Coming into this game felt like we didn't finish it right against Vegas, and these guys did a great job," Macdonald said. "They came in and I thought we played physical. You're always thinking of, it's great, but you're thinking of stuff, hey, we can build off. The guys are working really hard, making calls, running to the ball, leveraging the ball. I think we are tackling really well, which is great."

Said Pili, "Our defense went out there and balled, man. I was happy for the young guys. They got all the sacks tonight. I was real happy to see our defense coming together and playing like we know how to play."

Friday night's game was hardly an indication of what Seattle's defense will be as a finished product this season. Three veteran linemen, Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed and DeMarcus Lawrence, as well as linebacker Tyrice Knight, did not play, and the starters who did play were only in for that one opening series. But what the game did further illustrate, from the effort to the final numbers on the stat sheet, is that the Seahawks defense, in its second season under Macdonald, has a chance to do some really good things this season.

"Because we have so many people back and the staff is pretty much intact, we're tackling the details of everything instead of the big picture of what we are doing," Love said. "That's been the story of camp, the footwork, the cadence, the details of everything as opposed to just throwing out an install and learning it all from the jump. So it allows us to just be completely ahead of the pace, and now we're chasing the edge, chasing perfection, as much as you can't obtain it, that's what we're trying to make the standard on defense."