Seahawks Provided A Blueprint For Stopping Chiefs Running Back

The Denver Broncos finally got their offense back on track on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, and it happened just in time. The Broncos have a big game coming up against their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver will be looking to change the narrative that had them embarrassed by their own inability to tackle during their 31-10 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead in Week 1. 

This time the game will be at Mile High Empower, where the Denver defense is typically much tougher. Crowd noise figures in prominently, and that will undoubtedly be the case in the marquee game of the week. 

Running back Kenneth Walker III was the cause of the embarrassment, as he got 178 rushing yards in the game and was a one-man wrecking crew. Walker has been doing that to a lot of teams, but the Seattle Seahawks provided a blueprint for stopping Walker, or at least slowing him down, in their dominant 20-3 win over the Chiefs. 

The Seahawks clearly knew Walker’s running style, which is based on patience and jump cuts, punctuated by sudden bursts that often get him past the first wave of defenders so he can break off big runs. 

Those waves were the keys to Seattle’s approach. They sent them relentlessly, and regardless of what was happening. The Seahawks knew what Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has said on multiple occasions, which is that the first defender rarely brings down Walker. 

Except that defender did on multiple occasions, which was also clearly a matter of familiarity. No matter, though -- the point is that without those waves of defenders on the way, Walker usually will find a way to extend runs, and sooner or later he’ll break one off. 

Sooner or later didn’t happen against Seattle, though, and that, too, was part of the plan. The Seahawks stayed just as conscious of that possibility of Walker breaking off a big run in the fourth quarter as they were in the first and the result was a complete defensive game that held Walker well under his goal of 100 yards, as he finished with just 36 yards on 14 carries. 

The Broncos don’t have the size of Seattle’s defense, but they certainly have the talent to tackle in waves. They do this constantly in their pass rush, as defensive coordinator Vance Joseph often sends defenders from all directions. Look for Denver to use the Seattle tape to employ the same approach against Walker as the Broncos try to make up for their loss to the Chiefs the first time around.