CHICAGO — The Seahawks didn’t necessarily need to win Thursday night to keep their playoff hopes alive, and their offense played like it.
They were undisciplined, getting flagged for a pair of procedural penalties as well as a personal foul by DK Metcalf.
They were ineffective, managing only 265 yards and a pair of 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 fierce as the offense was forgettable. The 6-3 result wasn’t over until Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ desperation heave, a fitting end to a slugfest of a game that was dominated by Mike Macdonald’s defense.
It shouldn’t have been that close against a four-win Bears team that had dropped nine straight games, but the Seahawks’ win means they won’t necessarily be eliminated from playoff contention with a Los Angeles Rams win Saturday over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Seahawks’ only path to the playoffs is as NFC West champs, and the best shot of that happening is for Los Angeles to lose Saturday and for the Seahawks to beat them next week at So-Fi Stadium, where Geno Smith and Seattle’s offense will have to be much better than they were Thursday night.
Here’s what to know for both teams:
QB breakdown: Geno Smith was underwhelming, completing 17 of 23 passes for 160 yards without a touchdown on a wet, mid-40s night. He didn’t throw any interceptions, which has been his Achilles heel in 2024, but he was nearly picked in the red zone on Seattle’s opening drive. One of the three sacks he took came on a play in which he should have gotten rid of the ball but held onto it while trying to buy time, resulting in a fumble that Seattle recovered. Smith tends to play much better indoors, so he won’t mind going from Chicago to So-Fi Stadium next weekend, where he’ll have $6 million worth of contract incentives on the line — and potentially a playoff berth as well — against the Rams.
Promising trend: Williams entered Thursday as the NFL’s most sacked quarterback, and the Seahawks’ deep pass-rush took advantage. They pressured Williams on 10 of his first 20 dropbacks and kept the heat on him all game long. Seattle finished with seven sacks from six different players. One came from Uchenna Nwosu, his first of an injury-plagued season.
Promising trend, Part 2: It came against a below-average Bears run defense, but the Seahawks found some success on the ground. Their 53 rushing yards on their opening field-goal drive nearly matched their total of 59 from all of 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 ran the ball nearly as often or as well as Macdonald wants this season, which has put a microscope on first-year OC Ryan Grubb. But the run game at times 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 that 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)
Slow starts have been an issue all season for the Bears, who have 20 points combined over 16 first quarters. During his weekly pregame interview on ESPN 1000, Chicago general manager Ryan Poles gave his two cents on the root of those 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 where quarterback Caleb Williams averaged 1.3 air yards per completion, his lowest mark of the season per 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% of its third down attempts and looked listless in seven drives that ended in punts.
The Bears tacked on their 10th straight loss against Seattle and will wrap up a season that fell well short of expectations in Green Bay in Week 18.
Describe the game in two words: Hard watch. The Bears weren’t able to find traction offensively while averaging 3.1 yards per play. Chicago’s best drive, which accumulated 67 yards and ate up 7:47, resulted in a field goal after a holding penalty on left guard Jake Curhan negated a touchdown from Caleb Williams to Rome Odunze. The defense kept things close, but this was an ugly Thursday night game for both teams.
Troubling trend: Caleb Williams has endured a lot of hits this season. Williams was pressured relentlessly on dropbacks throughout the night, which led to him being sacked seven times. That 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 while 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)
