2022 Week 16 Recap: Chiefs 24, Seahawks 10 (by Ross Jacobs)
KC got up quickly here and just played a nice controlled game and crushed the life out of the Seahawks. It wasn't their best played game of the year, but they don't need it to beat teams like this. Sometimes that lackadaisical play can get them into trouble, either down early or allowing a team to come back on them once they have a big lead, but there was no threat of that here. The Seahawks didn't score their first points until right before halftime and then their first TD with about 2:30 minutes left in the game.
We all know the KC offense can score points but what's going unnoticed by many is that their defense is much, much better than in past years. It's still just an average unit overall but considering they have typically been among the absolute worst units during the Mahomes era, this group looks elite by comparison. The Chiefs have been one of the Super Bowl favorites every year since 2018 and with an improved defense this 2022 version looks like the best, most balanced team they've had yet.
KC is still fighting for the #1 seed in the AFC and it's a close race between them, Buffalo and Cincy. The latter two teams play this week and the loser likely falls out of the race. Either way it's going to be tough for KC to get the top seed though because 2 of their 3 losses this year were to those two teams. I'm going to guess they'll end up with the #2 seed but it doesn't matter a whole lot. Home field advantage is always nice but this team is good enough to win without it.
Seattle falls to 7-8, losers of 5 of their last 6 after a very promising start. It was an overall positive year for them considering what everyone expected before the season, but the rough end is going to leave a bad taste in peoples' mouths. Contrary to what many believe, Seattle does have some big questions to answer this next off-season. I don't believe it's out of the question that Pete Carroll might retire and be replaced by a new head coach giving the team a fresh start and a new direction. Who might replace him if that happens? My top guess would be Jonathan Gannon based on what I've heard, but I could also see Kellen Moore being in the mix and it's even possible that associate head coach Sean Desai could take over. It's possible that was the succession plan put in place this past year.
Now would be as good a time as any for a new head coach to come in. The team has two premium picks at the top of the 2023 draft and more in the pipeline from the Russ trade. They can re-sign Geno to a 2 or 3 year contract and draft a young developmental rookie, possibly with their top pick in the draft. The stage is set nicely for a new coach if that's the direction they want to move.
Fantasy Player Notes:
– KC has such an embarrassment of riches at the skill positions this year. Kadarius Toney was back and scored on a simple jet sweep toss pass around the end. He's still being brought along slowly but it's just a matter of time until they let him off the leash and it's going to be sweeeeet for fantasy when it happens...provided he can stay healthy.
Skyy Moore also flashed here on his lone catch of the day. It was just a short catch and run for 5 yards but I got the same feeling about it that I got about the Christian Watson screen two weeks before he broke out. I wasn't totally sold on Moore despite RC's insistence but I am now. The movement Moore showed on this one play was elite. He and Toney are going to be a nasty 1-2 punch the next couple of years.
Justin Watson had a rough day at the office. It started when he torched pro Bowl rookie corner Tariq Woolen, had him beat by 3-4 yards but Woolen made an insane play catching up and breaking up the pass. I'm not sure there's another corner in the league capable of making that play, not even Sauce. Woolen's range is absolutely unreal. Things got even worse for Watson after that play though when he outright dropped his next two targets. He played well on the whole, was getting open, but just couldn't finish the plays.
– Got a nice game out of Kenneth Walker after a few rough starts. He really is quite talented and showed off some nice moves here with a couple of excellent cutback runs. He'll be in the RB1 mix next year.
– There was some thought that Marquise Goodwin might step up big with Tyler Lockett out but that didn't happen. Out of nowhere Laquon Treadwell played the 2nd most snaps at WR for Seattle and had a pretty solid game. He doesn't like quite as good as he did last year for Jacksonville but maybe it was just his surroundings last year that made him look better than he actually is. He's really not a bad receiver at this stage of his career. Good for him sticking it out after a disappointing start as a 1st round pick.
– The most exciting thing from this game though was not a receiver or running back but a TE that RC and I have been fans of for a while now...this was the first time I've seen Seattle using Colby Parkinson as a real weapon and it was quite a promising start. Parkinson is a unique weapon at 6'7” with really good movement skills for his size, like a more nimble Donald Parham.
The best part is they actually lined him up split out wide multiple times, not just in-line, and he got a targeted slant route on the goal line. The pass was broken up but it shows that Seattle is trying to get him the ball in creative ways. There aren't many TEs in the league that run that type of play. Whether the team continues to expand on his usage I can't say for sure, but what I saw here has me hopeful for the future.
IDP Notes:
– I don't need to point out that Nick Bolton is an IDP beast at LB by this point. He was my choice at LB in the IDP league I play in for a reason. The guy is a tackling machine, by far the highest tackle per play rate of anyone in the league as a rookie last year and he's kept up that pace this year as well. This was his 3rd game in his last 6 with 14+ tackles. That is just off the charts.
Snap Counts of Interest:
69 = Metcalf
65 = Treadwell
39 = Goodwin
40 = Walker
42 = Fant
31 = Parkinson
28 = Dissly
44 = Juju
39 = Watson
23 = MVS
16 = Toney
11 = Skyy
43 = Kelce
26 = Pacheco
25 = McKinnon
