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Week 16 at a glance | Game of the Week | Sunday night | Monday night
Chiefs (9-5) at Seahawks (8-6)
Why to watch: The AFC West title will be on the line when the NFL's most resurgent team faces a club in the midst of a nightmare slump. With a victory, Kansas City will earn its third division title in the last five years. However, if Seattle wins its final two games, the Seahawks will win the West for only the second time in their history and the first since 1988. The Seahawks took the first meeting with a dominating 31-19 victory at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 21, only the second victory in Kansas City for Seattle since 1981. That win gave the Seahawks a three-game lead in the division with only six weeks left in the regular season. But nothing has gone Seattle's way since, while the Chiefs have won four in a row to take a one-game lead in the divisional race. Kansas City comes off a 35-19 victory over Pittsburgh last Saturday, getting an extra day to focus on this showdown. During their four-game winning streak, the Chiefs posted dramatic road wins in Oakland and Denver before beating Minnesota and Pittsburgh at home. The Seahawks are coming off a heartbreaking 36-30 overtime loss in Denver, a game that ended when the Broncos returned a Jon Kitna fumble for a touchdown. A week earlier, Seattle lost 19-16 at home to San Diego when kicker Todd Peterson missed three field goals in the final 10 minutes. With their confidence shaken, the Seahawks will need to end the first four-game losing streak of Mike Holmgren's NFL coaching career if they're going to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons. This also marks the final regular-season NFL game in the Kingdome, so you can expect Seattle fans to be in full throat.
Who to watch:
Elvis Grbac, who has six TD passes and only three interceptions during the four-game winning streak, will need to avoid mistakes against a Seahawks defense that has intercepted an NFL-high 25 passes. Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez has caught all six of Grbac's TD passes in the last four weeks, including four in the last two games. Grbac will look for WR Derrick Alexander when the Chiefs need a big play. Chiefs CB James Hasty, who leads the team with six interceptions, is having his finest season and was selected to the Pro Bowl on Wednesday. Chiefs LBs Derrick Thomas (seven sacks) and Marvcus Patton (six) should be able to get some pressure on Kitna. Seahawks RB Ricky Watters ran for 107 yards on 24 carries and scored three TDs in the first meeting. That type of solid effort on the ground has been missing during Seattle's four-game skid. Kitna has thrown eight of his 14 interceptions in his last four games, but he has three TD passes and just one interception in his last two starts. Kitna's timing is still a bit off with speedy WR Joey Galloway, who has scored just one TD in the six games since ending his holdout. Seahawks WR Derrick Mayes leads the team with 55 catches and nine TDs, while fellow WR Sean Dawkins has caught 50 passes for 856 yards and six TDs. The onus will be on the Seahawks' front four of DTs Sam Adams and Cortez Kennedy and DEs Phillip Daniels and Michael Sinclair. Seattle's front has struggled to pressure the passer and hasn't been able to stop the run.
Chiefs' numbers to know:
Seahawks' numbers to know:
What it means: However, if Seattle manages to pull out of its skid, the 'Hawks will sweep the season series and own the tiebreaker. In that scenario, a victory in its season finale in New York against the Jets would give Seattle the division title. If the Chiefs lose, they still will have a decent shot at a wild-card berth -- the same can't be said for the Seahawks, whose season probably will be over. | ALSO SEE
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