Seahawks earn key road win as Bears skid continues

CHICAGO — The Seahawks didn’t necessarily need to win Thursday night to keep their playoff hopes alive, and their offense went that way.

They were undisciplined and were flagged for two penalties before the snap as well as a personal foul after DK Metcalf’s whistle.

They were ineffective, passing for just 265 yards and two field goals in their worst offensive performance in over a calendar year.

And ultimately, the Seahawks were victorious thanks to their defense, which was as ferocious as the offense was forgettable. The 6-3 result wasn’t over until Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ desperate heave, a fitting end to a brawl of a game dominated by Mike Macdonald’s defense.

It shouldn’t have been this close against a four-win Bears team that had lost nine straight games, but the Seahawks’ win means they won’t necessarily be knocked out of the playoffs with a Los Angeles Rams win Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Seahawks’ only path to the playoffs is to become NFC West champions, and the best chance for that is for Los Angeles to lose on Saturday and for the Seahawks to beat them the following week at SoFi Stadium, where Geno Smith and the offensive of Seattle will have been much better than they were Thursday night.

Here’s what you need to know for both teams:

QB breakdown: Smith was disappointing, completing 17 of 23 passes for 160 yards with no touchdowns on an at-times humid night in the mid-40s. He didn’t throw any interceptions, which has been his Achilles heel in 2024, but he was almost spotted in the red zone during Seattle’s first drive. One of the three sacks he made came on a play in which he should have gotten rid of the ball, but he kept it while trying to buy time, resulting in a fumble that Seattle recovered. Smith tends to play much better away from natural elements, so he won’t mind going from Soldier Field to the mostly indoor SoFi Stadium next weekend, where he’ll have a $6 million contract escalator in play – and potentially the playoffs. berth as well – against the Rams.

Promising trend: Williams entered Thursday as the NFL’s most sacked quarterback, and the Seahawks’ deep pass rush benefited. They pressured Williams in 10 of his first 20 losses and kept the pressure on him all game. Seattle finished with seven sacks from six different players. One of them came from Uchenna Nwosu, his first in an injury-plagued season.

Promising trend, part 2: He ran into a below-average Bears run defense, but the Seahawks found some success on the ground. Their 53 rushing yards on their first drive that resulted in a field goal nearly matched their total of 59 from last week. They finished with 122 rushing yards on 25 carries, with Zach Charbonnet (57 yards on 15 attempts) leading the way after Seattle put Kenneth Walker III on IR. The Seahawks haven’t run the ball as often or as well as Macdonald wanted this season, which has put first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb under the microscope. But the ground game was at times one of the few bright spots in Seattle’s offense against Chicago.

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

Next game:to the Los Angeles Rams (TBD, January 4 or 5)

Slow starts have been a problem all season for the Bears, who total 20 points through the first 16 quarters. During his weekly pregame interview on ESPN 1000, Chicago general manager Ryan Poles gave his thoughts on the root of these issues.

“I think it came from training camp,” Polonais said. “It’s just some of the things that haven’t been addressed, or haven’t been detailed enough, whatever it is.”

Chicago’s offense was a disaster 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 that was missing left tackle Braxton Jones, who was placed on injured reserve this week, and left guard Teven Jenkins, who was ruled out with a calf injury, Williams struggled. The Bears offense converted 33 percent of its third down attempts and looked listless on seven drives that ended in punts.

The Bears suffered their 10th straight loss to Seattle and will finish a season well below expectations at Green Bay in Week 18.

Describe the game in two words: Difficult watch. The Bears failed to find any ground on offense averaging 3.1 yards per play. Chicago’s best drive, which racked up 67 yards and ate up 7 minutes, 47 seconds, resulted in a field goal after A penalty on left guard Jake Curhan canceled out a Williams touchdown to Rome Odunze. The defense kept things tight, but it was an ugly Thursday night game for both teams.

Disturbing trend: Williams has suffered many hits this season. He was under relentless pressure on dropbacks throughout the game, resulting in him being sacked seven times. This brings the quarterback’s total to 67 sacks this season, the second most by a rookie QB behind only David Carr’s record (76) in 2002.

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