Kansas City and Seattle played 60 minutes of football and produced 18 points, a pair of fourth-quarter punts that decided nothing, and the kind of tie that leaves both locker rooms feeling like they lost. The 9-9 final dropped both teams to 0-2-1, and it was the only score that fit the tape.
The argument is simple: neither offense deserved to win, and the tie is the honest alternative to a coin flip. The only touchdown of the game came on Seattle's Nick Vannett, who hauled in a 4-yard score. That's it. No other receiver or running back found the end zone, and the rest of the afternoon was an exercise in field position.
Seattle's Jalen Milroe completed 16 of 26 passes for 20 yards, threw no touchdowns, and lost a fumble. Twenty yards on 26 attempts. The running game didn't save him: Jacardia Wright needed 15 carries to scratch out 11 yards. The one spark was Cody White, who caught three passes for 69 yards, including a 40-yard gain, but that's a match in a rainstorm, not a fire.
Kansas City's passing leader, Garrett Nussmeier, got support from a rushing committee of Brashard Smith, Emmett Johnson, Emari Demercado and EJ Smith. None of them could break the lock. The Chiefs' nine points had to be pieced together without a touchdown, which is its own kind of indictment.
The fourth quarter turned into a punting duel, and that's the best description of this game you'll get. With 6:01 left, Seattle's Dickson punted 54 yards to the Kansas City 16, and a penalty on the Seahawks' R. White for being out of bounds on the kick gave the Chiefs 5 yards at the 25. Short field. Nothing. Then, at 3:40, Kansas City's Araiza boomed a 53-yard punt into the end zone for a touchback. Two punts, two changes of possession, zero points. The game ended at 0:00 with the score stuck at 9-9.
That's not a breakdown; it's a pattern. Both teams had chances to take control and both punted the responsibility back. The tie leaves both at 0-2-1, a record that says more about what you can't do than what you can.
Here's the verdict: this tie flatters both offenses, and the tape will be brutal for Seattle. Milroe's 20-yard passing line is a flashing red light, not a glitch. Kansas City isn't much better, but they have at least a committee of runners to lean on while they sort out the passing game. The Seahawks don't have a runner who can carry them, and their quarterback just put a punter's line on the board. Two winless teams, one empty scoreboard. The NFL doesn't award points for effort, and it didn't here.