Bears drop 10th straight in loss to Seahawks |
CHICAGO—There hasn't been much that has gone right for the Chicago Bears (4-12) this season, as they entered their Soldier Field Finale on Thursday riding a nine-game losing streak. In what has been a season of mostly lows, the Bears had a chance to bring the fans some holiday cheer while playing spoiler in the process with the Seattle Seahawks (9-7) coming to town.
After back-to-back losses against the Packers and Vikings, the Seahawks needed a win on Thursday to keep their playoff hopes alive and a chance to win the NFC West next week. This was one of those games that sums up the Bears' season to a T, as the Bears found themselves trailing late and the ball in their hands with a chance to force Overtime or pick up a rare win. Facing a fourth down on their end of the field, Caleb Williams made one of his better plays of the game as he avoided the pressure and found Rome Odunze for a massive first down. That was when the ugliness of this game followed. Williams took one of his seven sacks on the next play before throwing his first interception in 10 games, and the Bears fell to the Seahawks 6-3. You heard that right. This was a 6-3 football game, as neither offense could do much of anything. Ironically, all of the scoring came in the first half, which is amazing when you think about how both of these teams played. Coming into the game, the Seahawks went 19 consecutive games without an opening drive touchdown, but early on, it looked as if that would all change. Given the weather conditions, which weren't ideal, with rain falling throughout the first half, the Seahawks made it a point to run the football. Zach Charbonet and Kenny McIntosh picked up large chunks of yardage to move the chains. Those yards helped set up the passing game, with Noah Fant coming away with another first down for one of his three first-half catches. Eventually, that drive would come to an end as Tremaine Edmunds dropped a potential Interception. The Seahawks would settle for a 27-yard Jason Myers field goal to take a 3-0 lead, as they have gone 20 straight games without an opening drive TD. Not only were points at a premium throughout the game, but this was a game all about the punters in the first half. The next six combined possessions resulted in punts, and the Bears had just one first down through their first three possessions. It took Chicago midway through the second quarter for their offense to finally show signs of life, as they have been accustomed to starting slowly. D'Andre Swift got things started with a massive screenplay for a first down before picking up another first down on the ground a few plays later. A pair of first downs from DJ Moore and Keenan Allen followed that run as the Bears had more first downs on this drive than the entire first half. Looking to break through and take the lead, Williams found his rookie Odunze in the back of the endzone, and the play resulted in what looked to be a touchdown. Unfortunately for Chicago, there was a holding call on the play to take the points away, as Chicago settled for a Cairo Santos Field Goal to tie things up 3-3. With time winding down in the first half, Seattle had a chance to grab some points heading into the locker room. However, after a pair of personal foul calls on DK Metcalf, the Seahawks offense was behind the eight ball. That was until Smith hooked up with Fant not once but twice, and just like that, the Seahawks were out of the hole they were in with the ball inside Chicago territory. Those two receptions were massive as they set things up for the 50-yard Myers field goal to put the Seahawks in front 6-3 at the half. Those were the last of the points for either side. The second half saw 10 total possessions, with seven of them ending in punts. The only ones that didn't end in punts were the game-ending kneeldown from Smith at the end and the Williams interception on the Bears' final possession. There was also a Kyler Gordon fumble earlier in the second half that looked to be returned for a touchdown, only to have him ruled down by contact. Had that been ruled a touchdown, it would have won the game for Chicago, but that is just how this season has gone for the Bears. Heading into the fourth quarter, Williams was held to just 51 yards passing, but he did his part to will his team back again. Still, with 122 yards on 16-28 passing, it was an overall ugly night for the Bears offense, which averaged just 3.1 Yards per Play. Williams also added 37 yards on five carries, with Swift leading the way with 53 yards on 12 carries. Moore paced the WRs with 54 yards on six receptions in an overall putrid night. Defensively, the Bears did their part as they held Smith to under 170 yards passing and the Seahawks offense to less than 300 total yards. The most concerning part of this game is seeing Cole Kmet not only come away without a catch, but he didn't have a single target in this one.
