Chiefs’ Travis Kelce knew there was something special about the Seahawks
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Preseason loss exposed Chiefs’ run defense and Seattle’s aggressive game plan.
- Travis Kelce noted Seahawks’ energy and cohesion after that August preseason game.
- Jaxon Smith‑Njigba emerged into a top receiver, leading the NFL in receiving yards.
When the Seahawks thumped the Chiefs 33-16 in August, fans chalked it up to Patrick Mahomes sitting out the preseason game at Lumen Field in Seattle.
But defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was not happy with what he saw that night.
“I didn’t like the way we played the run,” Spagnuolo said days later at training camp in St. Joseph. “I’ll tell you the biggest takeaway was, and I’m going to give (Seahawks coach) Mike Macdonald and his staff up there a lot of credit, it just felt like they came out with the intent to prove (it) to the Kansas City Chiefs, and they did.
“They were coming out of the huddle fast. They were running right at us. I’m just not sure we were ready for that, and shame on us.”
The Seahawks drove 81 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, then stopped the Chiefs on downs and went 85 yards to make it 14-0. The Chiefs were pretty much out of the game the rest of the way as Seattle was the better team that night.
Seattle carried that success to the regular season, winning the rugged NFC West and then advancing to Super Bowl LX on Sunday with a 31-27 win over the Rams.
Travis Kelce impressed with Seahawks
Seattle also made quite the impression on Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce that night. He talked about the Seahawks three weeks ago on his New Heights podcast when Caitlin Clark was a guest.
While on the subject of the upcoming postseason games, Clark mentioned Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and his great play in the regular season.
Kelce agreed and then talked about what he saw from the Seahawks on that August night.
“Happy as hell for that guy, man,” Kelce said of Darnold. “That Seattle team, we played them in the preseason. I was just like, there’s something about this team. You could just feel the energy and the juice and how much they love playing the game.”
Jason Kelce interjected: “They’ve got some dogs.”
“Yeah, they got some dogs,” Travis Kelce said. “And I was just like, man, there’s something about this team. And then (wide receiver) Jaxon (Smith-)Njigba just came to life, started looking like the most unstoppable receiver in the league.”
That’s just what Smith-Njigba did as he led the NFL in receiving yards (1,793) and had eight catches of 40 yards or more, also tops in the league.
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 10:53 AM.
