Instant Analysis: Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks Run Wild in 33-16 Preseason Win vs. Chiefs

SEATTLE, Wash. - Steamrolling the opposition from the outset, the Seattle Seahawks rushed for 271 yards as a team behind the three-headed monster of Zach Charbonnet, George Holani, and Damien Martinez to secure a 33-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in their second preseason contest.

The trio of Charbonnet, Holani, and Martinez rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown combined, with most of that production coming in the first two quarters alone as Seattle raced out to a 23-7 advantage. Drew Lock tossed a pair of touchdown passes to veteran receiver Jake Bobo, while undrafted rookie Seth Coleman paced the defense with 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss.

Improving to 1-0-1 in exhibition play, here are four takeaways from the Seahawks’ convincing romp over the Chiefs at Lumen Field:

1. Zach Charbonnet, ‘Hawks backs sprint through train-sized holes in dominant rushing performance.

For the second straight week, the Seahawks came out with a clear intention to establish their rushing attack, wasting little time to start gashing a Chiefs’ defense featuring a blend of starters and reserves. On the first play from scrimmage, Charbonnet accelerated through a massive crease behind fullback Robbie Ouzts and center Jalen Sundell climbing to the second level for a 13-yard gain. With three more carries for 19 yards sandwiched in between for the former second-round pick, he once again feasted on outstanding blocking in front of him on a split-zone run, as rookie guard Grey Zabel and tackle Josh Jones created good push to the right with their blocks and tight end Eric Saubert kicking out the edge to spring him for a 15-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

On the ensuing series, with Zabel and the starting offensive line still on the field, George Holani got himself in on the act, rocketing through a semi-wide hole after the entire left side of the line created substantial horizontal displacement on a zone run for a 30-yard gain. He finished his lone drive of offensive action with 49 yards on just five carries, setting up a touchdown pass from Lock to Bobo on a quick screen. Rookie Damien Martinez ripped off a 19-yard run on the next series and with Lock contributing a 30-yard scramble of his own, Seattle racked up 174 yards on the ground by halftime as they raced out to a 16-point advantage.

Even after substitutes checked in on the offensive line, the Seahawks kept rumbling on the ground coming out of intermission. Undrafted rookie Jacardia Wright spun through a tackle without his knee touching the ground and stayed up to turn a short gain into an 18-yard rumble, giving all four of the team’s backs at least one run of 15 yards or more apiece. By the time Martinez sealed off the possession with a one-yard plunge for six, the home squad already had a whopping 217 yards rushing with a 7.2 yards per carry average.

2. Under center for ‘Hawks debut, Sam Darnold efficient and decisive in bootleg-heavy preseason audition.

With most of Seattle’s starters getting some run on Friday night, all eyes were on Darnold in his debut with the team. Though there wasn’t anything flashy from the veteran quarterback, he played clean football both in and outside of the pocket with the run game slowing down the pass rush on the few times where he did drop back to pass. After completing his first attempt for five yards to tight end A.J. Barner, he linked up with Jaxon Smith-Njigba off a second down misdirection play for seven yards, moving the Seahawks past midfield in swift fashion.

Playing to his quarterback’s strengths, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak then dialed up back-to-back bootleg play action calls, allowing Darnold to get outside of the pocket. On the first one, Ouzts leaked out of the backfield into the flats wide open, making for an easy catch-and-run that resulted in a 13-yard gain and a first down. On the very next snap, he rolled out again, dumping it off to rookie tight end Eljiah Arroyo, who turned up along the sideline for a nine-yard gain. Charbonnet’s touchdown capped off the drive and the Seahawks felt they had seen more than enough from the signal caller, who finished a perfect 4-for-4 for 34 yards and a passer rating of 102.1 before getting a ball cap on the sidelines.

Behind Darnold, Lock had a very sharp outing of his own, leading three touchdown drives while completing 10 out of 12 passes for 129 yards and two scores through the air to Bobo. With the exception of a fourth and goal incompletion to undrafted rookie tight end Nick Kallerup that resulted in a turnover on downs, he played nearly perfect football unloading the ball from the pocket and on the run outside the tackle box, with much of his yardage going to Bobo and Dareke Young, who combined for 76 yards on five catches.

3. Julian Love and Seattle’s starters ace bend but don’t break in up and down lone defensive series.

While Seattle’s starting offense hit the ground running - literally - Mike Macdonald’s defense had a bit more of a rocky dress rehearsal going up against the pride of Washington State in Gardner Minshew, who earned the start for Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes resting. With a chance to get off the field quickly after Charbonnet’s touchdown, the Chiefs easily picked up a 3rd and 2 conversion with the quarterback dumping it off to a wide open Isaiah Pacheco, who took the short pass out of the backfield for a 22-yard gain past midfield with no defenders in his zip code.

Three plays later, Minshew delivered on 3rd and 3 again, this time lofting a first down completion to receiver Tyquan Thornton for 14 yards to close in on the red zone. The Chiefs weren’t able to convert on third down again a couple plays later with safety Coby Bryant upending receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on 3rd and 4 a yard short of the line to gain, but coach Andy Reid decided to go for it after a virtual measurement. Only inches away from moving the chains again, fullback Carson Steele took the handoff ready to launch himself past the marker, but Love had other plans.

Playing as if Seattle was defending every blade of grass in the Legion of Boom era instead of a preseason game, Love lowered the boom on Steele, thwarting him in his tracks at the line of scrimmage. After officials took five years to conduct another virtual measurement, the ruling of a turnover on downs was announced to delight of the 12s, sending Kansas City to the sideline with no points to show for the drive. Content with the red zone stop, Macdonald subbed out the vast majority of his starters after that point, turning the game over to the reserves.

4. Kansas City’s touchdown drive withstanding, Macdonald had to be pleased with overall defensive effort.

Not having to face Mahomes at all certainly made the agenda easier for the Seahawks, but for what it is worth, Minshew had most of the starters playing alongside him on the first two series of the game for the visitors. For that reason, it shouldn’t be a surprise that when the starters checked out for the Seahawks, the Chiefs marched right down the field on their second possession.

Throwing with precision, Minshew linked up with running back Brashard Smith for a 12-yard pickup on the first play of the drive and then connected with ex-Packers tight end Robert Tonyan after lofting the ball over a linebacker for a 10-yard pickup to move the chains again. Seattle appeared to have a stop when Minshew airmailed Nikko Remigio down the hashmarks, but safety Ty Okada collided with the receiver and drew a defensive pass interference penalty that extended the possession with Kansas City advancing to the six-yard line.

Even after that point, the Seahawks nearly got off the field again unscathed, stopping Steele at the goal line to set up a 3rd and goal. But Minshew got the upper hand this time around, sifting through his reads on a play action rollout to his right before hitting Tonyan for the touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7.

From that point on, however, Seattle dominated defensively, starting with a safety courtesy of nose tackle Brandon Pili penetrating into the end zone on the first play after Lock’s fourth down incompletion to extend the lead to 16-7. Four of the next five possessions for Kansas City netted nine or fewer yards with three punts and a knee to close out the first half. For the game, the Seahawks yielded just 146 yards of offense and under four yards per play with only four third down conversions on nine opportunities, helping them win the time of possession battle by more than 18 minutes.