KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Week by week as the Kansas City Chiefs’ winning streak has grown to five games, it has become clear that the defense is the driving force behind the team’s success.

That is not meant to diminish the important roles folks like quarterback Alex Smith, running back Jamaal Charles and the rest of the offense serve in the winning equation that has lifted coach Andy Reid’s team to a 7-3 record and a share of first place in the AFC West as they prepare for a Thursday night game against the Raiders in Oakland.

But Sunday’s 24-20 victory over Seattle was another piece of evidence on the increased importance of coordinator Bob Sutton’s defense to what the Chiefs are accomplishing. Never was that more apparent than in the fourth quarter when the Seahawks with Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson had three possessions against the Chiefs defense with the game’s outcome in doubt.

The Chiefs did not allow a point. Seattle got its hands on the ball with 13 minutes, 35 seconds to play. The Seahawks got another chance with 6:15 left in the quarter and their third chance came with 2:47 on the clock.

Here’s what happened:

— Wilson and the Seahawks offense ran 22 plays.

— They gained 100 yards, with six first downs.

— A dozen of those 22 plays were snapped in Chiefs territory, with six in Kansas City’s red zone.

— Seattle did not score a point.

Kansas City goes into the Oakland game as one of the league’s best defenses in stopping the run and pass, handling third down plays and scoring zone defense. They are among the best teams in the league in scoring defense and during the five-game winning streak, they have allowed just 70 points.

“This means a lot,” nose tackle Dontari Poe said after the game. “Coming in, you know what they (Seattle) are. We know what they did last year and we know they are still a real good football team. We know where we are and how much we have to go to get to where they were last year. It’s a big one for us … real big.”

With more big ones to come; there are two games ahead against Oakland that are sandwiched around meetings against Denver and Arizona.

MEDICAL WATCH: WR Donnie Avery is unlikely to practice this week and that makes it very doubtful that he will play Thursday night. If Avery sits out, it will make his absence from the lineup due to a sports hernia injury and surgery a total of seven games. … WR A.J. Jenkins (shoulder) sat out Sunday’s game against Seattle and did not practice on Monday. … CB Chris Owens (knee) did not practice Monday. … TE Anthony Fasano (knee) returned to practice on Monday.

REPORT CARD VS. SEAHAWKS

PASSING OFFENSE: C – What passing offense? The Chiefs pass game was hardly a factor in the game, with just 16 passes thrown by Alex Smith. That produced just 6.8 yards per completion and only one play of more than 20 yards. Essentially, the team’s wide receivers had just four targets and Dwayne Bowe caught two of those for a mere 18 yards. One positive was certainly the fact Seattle did not sack Smith.

RUSHING OFFENSE: A – Injuries and a re-shuffled offensive line made early season production tough for Jamaal Charles. But he has climbed back to the level he established over the last five years with his 159-yard performance against Seattle. Charles averaged eight yards per carry, going off on a 47-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter and scoring two touchdowns along the way. Knile Davis added a 4-yard touchdown run and rookie De’Anthony Thomas had three end-around type runs that produced 22 yards.

PASS DEFENSE: A – The Chiefs were able to keep the clamps on the Seattle passing game, limiting quarterback Russell Wilson to just 178 passing yards. They were able to sack Wilson twice, including a big takedown on the final Seattle possession by nose tackle Dontari Poe.

RUSH DEFENSE: B – Ordinarily, a performance where a defense gives up 204 rushing yards is not going to score a good grade. But while the Chiefs gave up yardage to both Marshawn Lynch (124) and Russell Wilson (71), the longest of the positive runs was for just a 17-yard gain and the defense came up with a big fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B – Not much was asked of the Chiefs kicking game in the victory over Seattle, at least not until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. That’s when Dustin Colquitt got off a pair of punts that went for 50-plus yards and made it very difficult for the Seahawks to come back. Plus, the Chiefs averaged 31.7 yards on three kickoff returns, while limiting Seattle to an average kickoff return of just 15.8 yards.

COACHING: B – The victory was not a perfect performance by the Chiefs. But Andy Reid and staff continue to find a way to win games – five in a row at this point – and they’ve done it by sticking to their plan of an efficient run-based offense and a bend-don’t-break defense. They lost the ball twice on fumbles against Seattle and still earned the victory. Yes, the wide receivers still do not have a touchdown catch, but Bowe had several sensational downfield blocks that provided more running room for Charles. Week-to-week, parts of the plan don’t quite come together, but Reid and staff have been able to produce a winning performance.