The Chicago Bears dominated the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in a 34-17 win on Monday Night Football, where they showed the NFL world that they're Super Bowl contenders.
Chicago had a total of 363 yards and four touchdowns, three of them from running back D’Andre Swift. The Bears had the ball for over 35 minutes and their opening drive was eight and a half minutes. They hurt themselves with penalties on both sides of the ball, but they were able to overcome the adversity.
Defensively, this unit was elite with three sacks on quarterback Sam Darnold, forcing him into several incompletions with a completion percentage of just 50 percent. Their interception also helped seal the win to get Chicago to 6-2, just one game behind the Minnesota
Vikings in the NFC North.
Here are a lot of studs and one dud from Chicago’s sixth win of the season, including newcomer Jeffery Simmons, who shined in his debut for the Bears and D’Andre Swift.
Stud: DT Jeffery Simmons
The Bears’ trade for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons immediately paid off in this game. He finished the game tied for the most tackles on the Bears with six, which included three solo tackles and two tackles for loss, as well as a sack, a quarterback hit and a pass defended. This defense looked completely different with him on the field as he is elevating everyone around him. According to ESPN’s postgame coverage, Seattle averaged three yards per play when Simmons was on the field versus 13.3 yards when he was not on the field. He truly makes Chicago a Super Bowl contender.
Stud: RB D’Andre Swift
Before Chicago’s game against Seattle, the Seahawks “Dark Side” defense had only allowed four rushing touchdowns. However, running back D’Andre Swift put up three rushing touchdowns on the Seahawks despite only averaging 2.6 yards per carry, his lowest of the season. This is the second game Swift has scored three rushing touchdowns. He had never done that prior to this season. The Bears’ run game is the heart of their offense and even the NFL’s best defense could not stop him from scoring.
Stud: DE Austin Booker
Austin Booker had a great game for Chicago. He blocked a field goal, which kept it a two-score game. Booker also tipped the ball that led to James Lynch’s first career interception. Even though the stat sheet is going to look unimpressive with three tackles and a solo tackles, he played a huge role in this win.
Stud: QB Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams 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. According to ESPN’s postgame coverage, 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.
Stud: LB Devin Bush
Linebacker Devin Bush was everywhere for the Bears in this game with six total tackles, including five solo, a sack and a quarterback hit. He was also one of four players on Chicago’s defense to have a tackle for loss. This was another good game for Bush; he may be the Bears’ best free agent pickup of the offseason.
Stud: EDGE Montez Sweat
Perhaps no one benefited from the Jeffery Simmons trade more than Montez Sweat. Simmons and Sweat were teammates in college and their chemistry was on full display on the field tonight. Sweat finished the game with a sack and three quarterback hits. He only had four quarterback hits in the first five games of the season. It was also his first time with at least three quarterback hits since October of 2024.
Stud: WR Rome Odunze
Williams was spreading the ball around all game, but he found Rome Odunze on multiple occasions for huge gains. He was Chicago’s leading receiver with four receptions for 87 yards, an average of 21.8 yards per reception. It is also just the second time Odunze has had at least 80 receiving yards in a game.
Dud: CB Jaylon Johnson
Per usual this year, cornerback Jaylon Johnson was a dud. He missed a tackle on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, allowing him to have a big gain. Johnson also had a pass interference shortly before halftime, which helped set up a touchdown for the Seahawks. If Chicago had the depth at corner, Johnson may be on the bench.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Studs and duds from Bears’ 34-17 win against the Seahawks
