Halftime observations from Seattle: Chiefs trail Seahawks in Sunday night thriller

At halftime, the Chiefs trail the Seahawks 14-10. Here’s what I noticed.

No Ware, (mostly) no problem

For the second game in a row, the Chiefs were without starting running back Spencer Ware as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered against Baltimore. And for the second game in a row, Damien Williams is (mostly) flourishing in Ware’s absence.

In his second start as a Chief, Williams scored the team’s first touchdown Sunday night on a two-yard reception with 11:21 to go in the second quarter. To get to that point, Williams contributed 35 rushing yards — including a 21-yard scamper on 3rd-and-1.

Williams had to carry even more of a load in the first half after rookie Darrel Williams exited with a hamstring injury suffered on kickoff return. Damien Williams finished the half with 11 carries for 91 yards and two catches for nine yards.

It wasn’t all good for Williams, though. Midway through the second quarter, Williams fumbled and the ball was recovered by Seattle’s Jaran Reed at KC’s 23.

Ball insecurity

Not only did Damien Williams fumble and turn the ball over, but late in the second quarter, Chris Conley lost the ball after a 24-yard reception. He was wide open on the catch, but lost it with 10 seconds before halftime — costing the Chiefs an opportunity to score before the break.

Secondary shakeup

Ron Parker and Kendall Fuller weren’t the only missing pieces of the Chiefs’ secondary in the first half. Though Orlando Scandrick was active, he didn’t see any playing time in the firsf half. Instead, rookie Charvarius Ward got the start opposite of Steven Nelson. When the Chiefs used a third corner, they went to rookie Tremon Smith. Scandrick spent the first half on the sideline wearing a giant coat around his shoulders and a beanie.

Ward had a rocky half in his first start. He was whistled for a pass interference call midway through the second quarter that put the Seahawks at 1st and goal from the 1. They scored two plays later as tight end Nick Vannett crossed the goal line right in front of Ward. He was also called for another pass interference in the second quarter with 1:32 left, moving the Seahawks to KC’s 45.

But the rookie also had a nice pass breakup in the first quarter.

At safety, Daniel Sorensen got the start opposite of Eric Berry. A year ago, Sorensen started 14 games in Berry’s absence after Berry got hurt in the season-opener. Parker didn’t show up on the injury report prior to the Seattle game, so his absence is a bit unexplained.

Run, run Seahawks

Seattle ran all over the Chiefs in its first drive — literally and figuratively. Appropriately capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Chris Carson, the 78-yard drive was made up of 67 rushing yards.

By the end of the first half, the Seahawks had 127 rushing yards and were averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

Carson led the way with 15 carries for 65 yards, while quarterback Russell Wilson also showed off his feet with three carries for 35 yards — including a 19-yard dash.

Buttkicker.com

When the Chiefs’ offense stalled at Seattle’s 36 on its second drive, kicker Harrison Butker came through big time. The second-year kicker drilled a 54-yard field goal with 6:34 to go in the first quarter. The ball just barely cleared the crossbar, but after a rough outing a week ago where he missed two of four field goal attempts, making the deep shot was a huge confidence booster.