It was a battle of defenses when the Chicago Bears took on the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football. Chicago’s defense easily won that battle and the Bears won the game, 34-17, for their third straight win while improving to 6-2.
Offensively, they did not run the ball efficiently, but Chicago still finished the game with three rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Caleb Williams also played incredibly well, becoming the first quarterback to throw for over 200 yards against the Seahawks this season. He also had the highest completion percentage of quarterback facing Seattle this year.
On defense, Jeffery Simmons is already making a big difference. Chicago is still struggling in the secondary, but their defensive line got pressure on Seahawks quarterback
Sam Darnold all game long, even when they only rushed four defenders.
Here is a look at the good, bad and ugly from the Bears’ second straight primetime win:
The Good
D’Andre Swift: He finished the game with a season-low in yards per attempt at only 2.6 yards per rushing attempt, but also finished the game with three rushing touchdowns, tied for the most in his NFL career. This Seattle defense was supposed to be one of the best in the NFL and while they held the Bears to just 126 rushing yards, they could not keep Swift out of the end zone.
Jeffery Simmons: If the Bears defense looks like this for the rest of the season, then the two first round picks it took to acquired Jeffery Simmons are more than worth it. Chicago’s defense finished this game with five tackles for loss, including three sacks, as well as six quarterback hits. Not only did Simmons have a great game, but he is helping Montez Sweat get back to the player he was when Chicago first traded for him in 2024.
Caleb Williams: He was on point the entire game. Seattle’s defense had not allowed a 200-yard passer all season until this game. Williams finished the game with 247 passing yards with a touchdown and a quarterback rating of 101. Williams not only had the most passing yards of any quarterback against the Seahawks this season, but also the most yards per attempt (7.3) and highest completion percentage (70.5). He is truly playing like an MVP since coming back from his hamstring injury.
James Lynch INT: Despite being in the NFL since 2020, Lynch never had an interception. Thanks to a tipped ball by Austin Booker, that changed in Chicago’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. This was a momentum-shifting play. The Seahawks might have had a little bit of hope before this pick, but it sealed a victory for the Bears.
The Bad
Jaylon Johnson: After the first eight weeks of the season, there could probably be at least a five-minute video of highlights of Jaylon Johnson being bad this season. You could add a few moments from this game to that highlight reel, including his pass interference penalty against Jaxon Smith-Njigba or JSN's completion in the first half that got Johnson completely turned around. It is not the first time he lost the receiver on the field this season. He just is not the same. Chicago may be forced to move on from him after this year.
Grady Jarrett penalty: Chicago had too many penalties in this game, but perhaps the most egregious one was Grady Jarrett’s face mask penalty. It does not matter if Seattle’s player started it because that does not excuse grabbing his face mask right in front of the official. It happened on Jeffery Simmons’ first sack with the Bears, making the timing of the penalty even worse.
The Ugly
Colston Loveland fumble: At this point in the game, it was the fourth quarter. Chicago had a 20-9 lead. On third-and-20, all they were trying to do was get a few yards and punt the ball. Instead, tight end Colston Loveland lost a fumble for the first time in his NFL career and gave Seattle an opening to get back in the game. Given Loveland had never fumbled before this game and he rebounded on Chicago’s next drive, this should not be a lingering issue. Still, it never should have happened.
Penalties: Jarrett’s penalty was one out of 10 for the Bears in this game. They had multiple delay of game penalties and probably could have been called for a few more. Chicago was able to overcome these penalties, but one of these games, it is going to royally cost them. After their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Bears will be on bye. Perhaps that will allow them to look at what is causing these penalties and address the issue.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Bears' 34-17 prime-time win over Seahawks
