NFL Week 7: the 20-yard line Kansas City never crossed

In one hundred and fifty-three previous starts, playoffs included, Patrick Mahomes had never played a game in which Kansas City failed to reach the opposition’s 20-yard line. On Sunday night in Seattle they managed exactly that, losing 20-3 without once crossing into it once.

During the Chiefs’ 20-3 loss to the Seahawks, Kansas City never reached the red zone, the first time that has happened in a Patrick Mahomes NFL start, with Sunday being his 153rd career start including playoffs. https://t.co/wzsTobILH9

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 26, 2026

The NFL week 7 results

On a bye: Bills, Jaguars, Chargers, Commanders. Scores via ESPN.

Following the Raiders like me? They lost 35-21 at home to the Rams, a fourth straight defeat, and sit at 3-4. For a review and my fan take check out the Raiders Week 7 review.

What is the red zone?

Many of you will already know this, but for anyone who is new to the NFL here you go:

The red zone is the last 20 yards before the end zone. There is no red paint on the field and no rule in the book that mentions it; it is simply the stretch where scoring a touchdown stops being a hope and becomes a reasonable expectation. Teams track how often they get there and what they do when they arrive, because it separates moving the ball from actually putting points on the board.

Why is should you care about the red zone?

The red zone is the last 20 yards before the end zone. It’s not actually red! It is a measure teams keep for themselves, because how often you get there and then what you do when you are there are important in terms of understanding performance, as it can make or break an offence!

This was a good game for me to review as a rookie fan, because I had never understood what the red zone was and had assumed it was a fancy way of saying close to the end zone. That turns out to be exactly what it is, which would have saved me a lot of nodding along.

A typical team gets there about three times a game. Across the league this season it is running at 3.3 trips, counting any drive with a snap inside the opponent’s 20 according to Sharp Football Analysis. So zero is does not just mean having a bad night. Zero means one of two things:

1. Oppositions defence was exceptional
2. Or your own offence fell apart

In Kansas City’s case it was the first, the defence was strong. They went into Sunday having reached the red zone more often than any team in the league, 4.6 times a game. Seattle were letting opponents in less often than anyone, 2.2 a game.

The best offence in the league at getting to that line met the best defence at keeping teams away from it, and lost 20-3.

Getting to the red zone is only half the battle. Everywhere else on the field a defence has to worry about someone getting behind them so they spread out. Inside the 20 there is nothing behind them left to protect, so they pack in tight and every yard has to be won in a crowd.

That is why an offence changes shape once it arrives in the red zone.
Kansas City finished with 213 yards, 11 first downs, three third-down conversions from eleven, four dropped passes and one score, a 50-yard Harrison Butker field goal in the third quarter.

Mahomes went 19 of 33 for 165 yards and threw an interception. Even the one gift they got all night, a 65-yard interception return, failed to put them inside Seattle’s 20.

Seattle, meanwhile, ran the ball 41 times for 153 yards and held it for nearly 36 minutes. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine for 150 and the game’s only receiving touchdown. “We put on a clinic,” said safety Nick Emmanwori afterwards.

Philadelphia found out what losing a quarterback costs

Last week we learned that Jalen Hurts would miss the rest of the season with blood clots. With everyone’s concern, rightly so, being on his health and the long lasting impact this will have on him I was not as focused on their next game.

On Monday night, we saw the first real look at what that means for the Eagles franchise, as Dallas won 38-21 at their place.

Tanner McKee started in Hurts’s place and threw a touchdown, and Philadelphia were not disgraced; they led 21-20 in the third quarter. But Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes without an interception, two of them to CeeDee Lamb, and Dallas ran for 204 yards on 38 carries.

Brandon Aubrey kicked three from three including a 55-yarder. The Cowboys scored on their last four possessions.

This fixture has its own long history, and if you want the background to why a Dallas win in Philadelphia carries more than the three points in the standings, the Cowboys and Eagles rivalry page covers it, and the live games page tracks when they next meet.

Just to add that the more important aspect of this is the well being of Jalen Hurts and all other NFL athletes. I hope there is a thorough internal review and they improve their duty of care towards the players.

The blocked extra point that was worth two points

This one also was a new one for me! Tampa Bay beat Carolina 43-13, and tucked inside it was a play that I did not know was legal.

Carolina scored a touchdown to make it 6-17 and lined up for the extra point. Tampa Bay blocked it, Zyon McCollum picked the ball up and carried it all the way down the length of the field, and Tampa Bay were awarded two points. Not Carolina. The score went to 6-19.

Here is the rule, from Rule 11, Section 3, Article 2 of the 2026 NFL rulebook:

“(b) If a Try results in a touchdown by either team, two points are awarded.”

The phrase doing the work is “by either team.” The kick after a touchdown is not a free point being handed over, it is a live scrimmage down called a Try, and the defending team is playing it too. If they get hold of the ball and reach the other end, they score, and because the rule values any Try touchdown at two, they get two rather than the one the kick was worth.

And as you listen below you can hear the commentator say the flag is down as McCollum sets off down the field!

BLOCKED THE EXTRA POINT & TO THE HOUSE FOR ✌️ 📺: #TBvsCAR on FOX https://t.co/G5ITN0VTcA

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 25, 2026

It is rare enough that most fans will go seasons without seeing it. It is also a neat illustration of something the rulebook does constantly: it writes rules for both teams at once, even on a play that looks like a formality.

More of that sort of thing is in how scoring works, and the unit involved is explained in special teams decoded.

Two games, two things I did not know

Two games this week taught me something I did not know. Kansas City losing in Seattle without ever reaching the 20 showed me what the red zone is really measuring, which is how often you get there as much as what you do when you arrive. Tampa Bay being awarded two points off a blocked extra point showed me that the kick after a touchdown is a live play, and that both teams are allowed to win it.

Both of these came from something going wrong rather than right. Looking forward to NFL Week 8 and what interesting turn of events we may see this Halloween weekend!