Kenneth Walker III has found new heights in Kansas City, while Seattle’s run game tells a different story

Kenneth Walker III faces the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night, and few running backs have arrived at a reunion in better form. He left as the Super Bowl LX MVP after rushing for 135 yards, then signed a three-year, $45 million deal with Kansas City. Through five games, he leads the league with 665 rushing yards and a 6.3 average. He has also scored six rushing touchdowns. Seattle ranks 31st in EPA per rush. According to The Athletic, the Seahawks never offered him an extension before free agency. That choice looks costly now.Kenneth Walker has lifted a Chiefs run game that lacked punchThe numbers are hard to argue with. Walker also leads in rushing yards over expected with 277, or 2.7 per attempt, and in broken tackles with 52. He sits second in rushing touchdowns and in runs of 10 or more yards, with 19. He is one of only six players since 1950 to reach 750 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns through five games. The others are Jim Brown, Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith, Marshall Faulk and Priest Holmes.Kansas City has not had a 1,000-yard rusher in the Patrick Mahomes era. That drought will not last long. Walker has already passed the 611 yards Kareem Hunt led the team with all of last season.He is also getting the ball more than ever. Walker has 106 carries, or 21.2 per game, which puts him on pace for about 360. He never carried 228 times in a season with the Seahawks. Seattle split the work with Zach Charbonnet after drafting him in 2023. In Kansas City, the backfield is his alone.The run game has changed how the whole offense looks. Last season the Chiefs ran 196 plays from under center, 40 of them passes. They already have 121 through five games, again with 40 passes. Play-action throws are at 57, compared with 150 all of last year, and Kansas City ranks sixth in EPA per pass at 0.27, per Next Gen Stats. It was 16th at 0.05. Being ahead has helped. The Chiefs have trailed only against the Colts in Week 2 and the Raiders in Week 4, and never by more than seven, so they never had to abandon the run.Seattle's ground game has slipped since he leftSeattle has the opposite problem. The Seahawks rank 31st in EPA per rush at minus 0.24, while Walker leads the league at 0.12 per attempt. Injuries explain a lot. Charbonnet is working back from a torn ACL suffered in the divisional round, and first-round pick Jadarian Price is on injured reserve. Price had 119 yards at 4.3 a carry before his Week 3 injury, fumbles aside. Without both, Sam Darnold has had little help from the ground.Sunday still won't be easy for Walker.Seattle allows 96 rushing yards a game, tenth in the league, and has yet to give up 70 to any back. Walker has topped 96 in four of five games. Only Miami held him under 100, and the Dolphins are tied with Seattle for fourth in EPA per rush allowed. The Seahawks will need to copy that plan.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.