Seahawks’ Defense Shines in Narrow Victory Over Bears, Keeping Playoff Hopes Alive

Seahawks’ Defense Shines in Narrow Victory Over Bears

CHICAGO — On a chilly Thursday night, the Seattle Seahawks took to the field against the Chicago Bears, not necessarily needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, their performance on offense seemed to reflect that lack of urgency. The Seahawks were plagued by undisciplined play, including a couple of pre-snap penalties and an after-the-whistle personal foul by DK Metcalf. Their offensive struggles were evident as they managed only 265 yards and a pair of field goals, marking their worst offensive performance in over a year.

Despite these challenges, the Seahawks emerged victorious, thanks to a defense that was as fierce as the offense was forgettable. The 6-3 result was sealed when Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams‘ desperation pass, a fitting end to a game dominated by Mike Macdonald’s defense.

It was a game that shouldn’t have been so close against a four-win Bears team that had lost nine straight games. However, the Seahawks’ win means they remain in the playoff conversation, avoiding elimination with a potential Los Angeles Rams win over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.

The Seahawks’ only path to the playoffs is as NFC West champions. Their best shot at achieving this is for Los Angeles to lose on Saturday and for the Seahawks to defeat them the following week at SoFi Stadium. For that to happen, Geno Smith and Seattle’s offense will need to perform much better than they did on Thursday night.

Seattle Seahawks (9-7)

QB breakdown: Smith’s performance was underwhelming, completing 17 of 23 passes for 160 yards without a touchdown on a sometimes wet, mid-40s night. While he avoided interceptions, which have been a problem for him in 2024, he was nearly picked in the red zone on Seattle’s opening drive. One of the three sacks he took resulted from holding onto the ball too long, leading to a fumble that Seattle recovered. Smith tends to play better away from natural elements, so he won’t mind the transition from Soldier Field to the mostly indoor SoFi Stadium next weekend, where he has $6 million worth of contract escalators on the line, along with a potential playoff berth against the Rams.

Promising trend: Williams entered Thursday as the NFL’s most sacked quarterback, and the Seahawks’ deep pass rush capitalized on this. They pressured Williams on 10 of his first 20 dropbacks and maintained the pressure throughout the game. Seattle finished with seven sacks from six different players, including one from Uchenna Nwosu, marking his first of an injury-plagued season.

Promising trend, Part 2: Although it was against a below-average Bears run defense, the Seahawks found some success on the ground. Their 53 rushing yards on their opening drive, which resulted in a field goal, nearly matched their total of 59 from the previous week. They finished with 122 rushing yards on 25 carries, with Zach Charbonnet (57 yards on 15 attempts) leading the way after Seattle placed Kenneth Walker III on IR. The Seahawks haven’t run the ball as often or as effectively as Macdonald wanted this season, putting a spotlight on first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. However, the run game was one of the few bright spots for Seattle’s offense against Chicago.

Pivotal play: Late in the third quarter, tight end Pharaoh Brown was stripped by cornerback Kyler Gordon, who returned the ball for what was initially ruled a touchdown. That would have given Chicago a 10-6 lead, but officials ruled Gordon was down by contact, and Seattle’s defense eventually bailed out Brown by forcing a punt. Nwosu’s sack for a 14-yard loss helped stall the drive. — Brady Henderson

Next game: at Los Angeles Rams (TBA, Jan. 4 or 5)

Chicago Bears (4-12)

Slow starts have been a persistent issue for the Bears this season, with only 20 points combined over 16 first quarters. During his weekly pregame interview on ESPN 1000, Chicago general manager Ryan Poles shared his thoughts on the root of these issues.

“I believe it stems back from training camp,” Poles said. “It’s just some of the things that either weren’t addressed, they weren’t detailed enough, whatever that is.”

Chicago’s offense was a mess on a night when Williams averaged 1.3 air yards per completion, his lowest mark of the season, according to ESPN Research. Behind an offensive line missing left tackle Braxton Jones, who was placed on injured reserve this week, and left guard Teven Jenkins, who was ruled out due to a calf injury, Williams struggled. The Bears’ offense converted only 33% of its third down attempts and appeared listless in seven drives that ended in punts.

The Bears added their 10th straight loss against Seattle and will conclude a season that fell well short of expectations in Green Bay in Week 18.

Describe the game in two words: Hard watch. The Bears couldn’t find traction on offense, averaging just 3.1 yards per play. Chicago’s best drive, which accumulated 67 yards and consumed 7 minutes, 47 seconds, resulted in a field goal after a holding penalty on left guard Jake Curhan negated a touchdown from Williams to Rome Odunze. The defense kept things close, but this was an ugly Thursday night game for both teams.

Troubling trend: Williams has endured numerous hits this season. He was pressured relentlessly on dropbacks throughout the game, leading to seven sacks. This brings the quarterback’s total to 67 sacks this season, the second most by a rookie QB, behind only David Carr’s record-setting mark (76) in 2002.

Most surprising performance: The Bears’ defense registered three sacks for the first time since hosting Minnesota in Week 12. Former Seahawks defensive end Darrell Taylor had his first sack since Chicago’s season-opening win against Tennessee, and defensive tackle Byron Cowart notched his first full sack since Dec. 10, 2020. — Courtney Cronin

Next game: at Green Bay Packers (TBA, Jan. 4 or 5)