For the first time all year, the Seattle Seahawks defense lost a game. In their, uh, defense, the other phases helped, several bang-bang calls broke the wrong way, the Chicago Bears proved far more formidable than expected, and thus came about the franchise’s most lopsided loss in two years. Stunning, but when you perform poorly across the roster for most the game, against a well-coached contender, these are the setbacks that happen.
Yeah, it happens. Although, man, it sure felt for a very specific
and very brief moment that it didn’t have to. I speak, of course, of a portion of the fourth quarter, of those tantalizing four minutes and 13 seconds the Seahawks actually looked like themselves. (Which isn’t enough to win a game that lasts 60 minutes, they’re telling me. Now they tell me!)
The good times began with Seattle’s lone takeaway. Praise be again to DeMarcus Lawrence, who is never allowed to retire.
Tank’s exquisitely timed fumble recovery came on the heels of Seattle’s lone sack, via Mike Morris, filling in for Uchenna Nwosu on the edge. There’s that word again — lone. And mark the time: 13:14 of the final quarter. Everything should go right until 9:01.
Therefore, Jadarian Price turned in his longest run of the night, a nine-yard burst; defensive holding gave the Seahawks a new set of downs; Price fought for four more tough yards inside the 10; and Sam Darnold found Cooper Kupp in the end zone for — you guessed it — his lone catch. Tory Horton caught the conversion, 20-17. Game on, right?
If the Seahawks were to do anything, it would have to be now, with time running short. And wouldn’t you know it, the Dark Side came ready on Chicago’s next possession, bottling them up on 3rd and 4 with a beautiful Nick Emmanwori-Ernest Jones collaboration behind the line of scrimmage. It was gonna be 4th and six, and the Bears were gonna send the ball Seattle’s way inside of nine minutes remaining, just when Sam Darnold and his offensive line were starting to show some juice.
But none of that happened. Lots of things didn’t happen. The game-changing TFL in question, for one.
For once in their striped lives, the officiating crew got a delay of game right. Bless Macdonald’s little heart, he tried to finagle a way to decline it, but you can’t accept a play that never occurred. Cheathawks only goes so far, after all.
No matter. The Bears are still in third and long, stop ‘em anyway, no harm, no foul. Except the witching hour, 9:01 left on the clock, means the team’s 4:13 of competency (we mentioned this three clips ago for a reason!) has expired. So instead, all possible harm and foul break loose. A cute little lateral to Kalif Raymond outside the hashmarks turns into an uncute 39-yard gain as he slips tackle after tackle and splita defender after defender. D’Andre Swift punches it in on a hurry-up snap before you could even see a replay. Bam, 27-17, and the Seahawks never score again.
Instead, Darnold’s eyes bugged out at how open A.J. Barner was, he threw it right into a defender’s hand, the ball ricocheted into James’ Lynch totally undeserving breadbasket, and voila, the Bears were set up with first and goal.
A spot of stout red zone defense would keep the Hawks in it momentarily, but Emmanwori took an unnecessary pot shot in the end zone after a play, third down turned into first and goal, and Swift scored the knockout punch on the next snap. After all, the 4:13 of competency had run its course. Dang.
It’s believable, albeit atypical, that special teams put the Seahawks in a hard place all night. Two bad kicks, two personal fouls, too much sloppy on a night you couldn’t afford it.
It’s hard to believe the same team that *last week* dealt Patrick Mahomes one of his worst day at the office ever, and stymied OPOY candidate Kenneth Walker, couldn’t get to Caleb Williams and let D’Andre Swift score three times on the ground.
It’s almost impossible to believe the return of RB1 and RB2, running behind a line bolstered by Quenton Nelson, made no difference at all. Seattle’s running backs carried the ball 17 times for 61 yards, combined. Sparklers are more explosive.
It’s straight-up unbelievable this next clip isn’t a personal foul/ejection, and the one below is worthy of OPI in the fourth quarter of a National Football Game in the year 2026.
The Bears were better Monday night, it’s difficult to argue otherwise. Granted, maybe the rest game unfolds in the same general manner with those two bang-bang-plays reversed. Still, I’d like to visit the universe where they went the other way, wouldn’t you?
A collection of bottom lines is, the Seahawks did not play good enough red zone defense (a pattern), did not play good enough red zone offense (a pattern) and rolled out disjointed offensive playcall after disjointed offensive playcall (layman’s opinion). The last drive lacked all urgency and ended with a Cooper Kupp drop on fourth down, when you needed either seven or a field goal.
Exactly as dominant as the Seahawks looked to the national audience on SNF is how much they got their own asses kicked in primetime again a week later. Say anything you want about the officiating (it was weird at best and unlucky at worst). However: the refs didn’t go 1-11 on third downs in the game’s.
The refs didn’t stop throwing it to JSN in favor of off tackle runs behind a LG playing his very first game at RG. (Smith-Njigba hauled in one catch between halftime and garbage time down 17.)
The refs didn’t mess with Uchenna Nwosu’s ankle this week and knock Leonard Williams out of the game on Monday.
The refs didn’t keep the Bears offense on the field for a 17-play TD drive in the first quarter.
The refs didn’t run 17 times for 61 yards, with one explosive only.
The refs didn’t save their first sack of Caleb Williams for the fourth quarter.
The refs didn’t miss two kicks.
The team that’s not as good as last year’s edition did all that, to themselves. Some of it not for the first time this year.
Q1: Bears 7, Seahawks 0
Predator: It’s hard to not give it to Ben Johnson for formulating the longest touchdown drive against Seattle this year, 17 plays. Jeffery Simmons gets the nod, though, for this quarter of work.
Prey: Sam Darnold
Hey look, I have another angle of the play that wasn’t a personal foul, on a night the crew was unafraid to throw flags for this kind of thing. Literal definition of being headhunted, right here:
The Seahawks would end the quarter on a high note, pinning the Bears deep then forcing a punt from inside the end zone and receiving it near midfield. I’d say they needed to turn that field position into more than three points but they lost by 17, so it’s not clear another handful of points would’ve mattered.
Q2: Bears 13, Seahawks 9
Predator: Rome Odunze
Look at the former Husky making the most of his return to Seattle, on the Bears’ second field goal drive of the quarter. Soft hands and a keen awareness of the soft spot in the zone. Odunze hasn’t seen the end zone yet this season but all his other stats increase, including yards per target, up to 10.0 now. This Bears offense really is something to behold.
On back to back pass plays in the second:
Seattle’s fifth offensive options is… not that.
No matter what other trouble they’re having, though, the Seahawks offense can be counted to to furnish random fireworks, where they look like world-beaters, until immediately forgetting everything that worked. For example, it took them 38 seconds to travel 71 yards in the two minute drill: DPI, incompletion, quick sideline dozen to JSN, incompletion, throwaway, touchdown to, who else?
I mention it in the linked post but Chicago shows an eight-man front, backs off to seven, leaving four in coverage. All JSN has to do is choose to break to the outside, where no safeties live, trust that Darnold is thinking the same thing, and await the ball. And that’s exactly how it unfolded. They can be so good.
Q3: Bears 20, Seahawks 9
Predator: Fate, probability, the state of being due
Prey: Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The third quarter ended with the phantom OPI play pictured above. It was JSN’s first offensive pass interference penalty of his career, per the broadcast. He’s so good he doesn’t need to gain an edge outside the rules. The timing for his first one could scarcely have been worse: instead of 1st and goal at the 2, Seattle faced 2nd and 18 outside the red zone as the quarter ended.
There were other events in the third quarter? Okay, the Bears put on a situational running clinic. Seven carries on their touchdown drive, the one that made it 20-9. Want to know how many yards those seven carries netted? 15.
So, the Seahawks defense did its job, right? Well, yes and no. By success rate — defined as gaining half the yards needed or all of them on third/fourth down — the Chicago backs were nails:
- Loss on 1st and 10 (failure)
- 5 yards on 1st and 10 (success)
- 4 yards on 2nd and 5 (success)
- 4 yards on 3rd and 1 (super success)
- No gain on 1st and 10 (failure)
- 2 yards on 3rd and 1 (success)
- 1 yard on 1st and goal, from the 1 (super duper success)
It doesn’t matter how many yards you gain if you’re successful that often. An eight yard run on 3rd and 15 is worthless but two yards on 3rd and 1 is money in the bank. Not to mention, four of Chicago’s successful rushes came in the red zone. Three from Swift, including the one that produced the 20th point.
Q4: Bears 34, Seahawks 17
Predators: Two. Austin Booker for the field goal block. Sometimes it’s good to be 6-foot-6. Then, it’s right to close with Tank, who does everything this team needs to win, every week, everywhere, despite his grandparently age of 34. In a pregame interview, he dropped these defensive philosophy bars: “It’s nothing new to us. We gotta play our style of defense, sideline to sideline. Anything that moves, we hit.”
Everything else to know about the fourth quarter either barely preceded or followed the Seahawks 4:13 of Being Themselves. Maybe next week they could try expanding it a little, you know, see what happens.
Morning Preyers
Find more pass-catchers, offensive coaches and people named Darnold. Hint: you employ them already.
The third downs. Seahawks went 1-for-11 on Monday after starting the Chiefs game 9-of-11. Conversions are variable but Holy Lombardi, you gotta spend some time in between those extremes. If nothing else, for your fans.
When Chicago wasn’t getting a bonus play after a (correctly called) delay of game and turning it into 39 yards on the ground even though let’s be honest, it was a quick bubble screen, they were running into a brick wall in Seattle’s defensive line. Excluding that play that very well could NOT have occurred, 34 carries for 87 yards is less than three yards a tote. Yes, we discussed success rate above, as it pertained to that one touchdown drive, but overall the Seahawks defense stopped the Bears for 1 yard or less ten times. Ten times! It’s just a shame Caleb Williams was hit only thrice all game and thus had plenty of time to dance in the pocket and follow up those negative plays with first downs through the air.
(Also, that 39 yarder counts.)
The delay of game moment also stands out for Johnson’s unwillingness to call time. You’re on the opponent’s side of the field, presumably in four down territory unless you lose yardage, your team broke the huddle at 11 seconds in the league’s loudest stadium, and your QB is still barking out signals with 1 on the play clock. Almost every single head coach alive has the presence of mind to use one of his three timeouts. Kinda wish he had. That one’s for another universe as well, sigh.
On a lighter note, who doesn’t love some hot gunner action! Hot gunner action, coming right up, courtesy of Nehemiah Pritchett.
The Seahawks defense showed up. Problem was they were all wearing Bears uniforms. There were no running lanes, the pass plays were mostly bottled up, they were ferocious and clinical on third down, and their defensive line hurried the QB from whistle to whistle. So that’s what it’s like to lose to a hungry and insatiable defense.
The Seahawks special teams showed up. Except on Myers’ kicks and with the personal fouls, so no, not really.
The Seahawks offense showed up. For all of a two-minute drill and a mini-drive off the late takeaway. Insufficient to produce a victory.
With three conference losses, poor ball security, a high-ceiling/low-floor offense, a first-time coordinator shuffling his running backs and linemen around, one certified best player in the world, a defense that is asked to do too much, and a 4-4 record, the Seahawks are playing with fire as they approach their Week 11 bye. It’s not hyperbole to suggest that the rest of the November slate determines whether Seattle will be allowed to embark on official title defense past Week 18 or not.
