SEATTLE — The Bears declared their Super Bowl intentions to the NFL last week.
Monday, they backed them up. With every grinding, physical offensive possession and bone-jarring tackle — and, yes, even a blocked field goal — the Bears proved they deserve to be considered one of the very best teams in the NFL.
They smothered the defending champion Seahawks in a 34-17 win that was impressive as much for the Bears’ nasty style of play as it was the final score.
Four days after they traded for Titans all-world defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, the Bears faced their toughest matchups of the season — a prime-time road game in a stadium where teams not named the 49ers had won just once in the last two years. They traded punches with the Seahawks and in doing so sent a message to the rest of the league — that the combination of coach Ben Johnson, quarterback Caleb Williams and a nasty, creative defense will spend the second half of the season in contention for division — and perhaps conference — supremacy.
They did something to the Seahawks that no one had done in 27 games: they scored on the first drive And what a drive it was: 17 plays for 80 grueling yards over a whopping eight minutes and 32 seconds. Receiver Luther Burden’s fourth catch of the drive was his shortest — a 1-yard touchdown from Williams. Williams wasn’t as flashy Monday night as he had been in wins against the Falcons and Patriots, but he was composed as Lumen Field rattled with line-of-scrimmage noise.
In the first half alone, Williams went 17-for-25 for 165 yards and a 99.6 passer rating. By the middle of the third quarter, he had become the first quarterback all year to throw for at least 200 yards against the Seahawks. The Bears had 208 yards in the first half against a Seahawks defense that, thus far this season, had allowed 234 per game.
Williams followed perhaps his biggest mistake of the game with an easy, effective throw. After taking a delay of game on third-and-four at the Seahawks 39 ahead by three early in the fourth quarter, he threw a screen pass to the right. Kalif Raymond took it 39 yards. Running back D’Andre Swift ran to the right pylon for a five-yard touchdown on the next play — his second of the game — to go ahead 27-17.
Defensive end James Lynch sealed the game with an interception off a tipped pass by Austin Booker, giving the Bears the ball at the Seahawks’ 6 with about six minutes to play. Swift scored his third touchdown, a five-yarder, to go up by 17.
Simmons, for whom the Bears sent the Titans two first round picks and a fourth-rounder last week, made his presence known early, sacking Sam Darnold in the first quarter. His new teammates matched his intensity, allowing only three first downs on the Seahawks’ five possessions before their touchdown-scoring drive. He led the Bears with five tackles in the first half, a rare feat for a defensive tackle.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was creative with how he used Simmons, even lining him up at defensive end on certain pass downs. He wasn’t on the field when the Seahawks scored their first touchdown of the game. With 30 seconds left in the half, Seahawks superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba beat Tyrique Stevenson on a deep ball down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown. Smith-Njigba, who entered the weekend as the NFL’s receiving yards leader, had four catches for 92 yards in the first half.
The Bears traded field goals late in the first half. Cairo Santos made his 38-yarder after the Bears marched downfield with relative ease. Rome Odunze caught an 18-yard pass, his first of the game. Two plays later, the Bears snapped the ball to Swift, who handed off to Williams, who was lined up in the left slot, on a reverse. Williams pulled up and threw to Odunze, who was lined up left and ran a post route, for 24 yards.
Left with fourth-and-two from the Seahawks’ 20 with 1:12 left in the first half, the Bears lined up and let Williams try to draw Seattle offside on a hard count. When the Seahawks wouldn’t jump, Ben Johnson called a timeout and Santos came out to make a 38-yard field goal.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Late the third quarter, the Bears were saved from yet another Jaxon Smith-Njigba star turn when the receiver was flagged for the first offensive pass interference of his career.
When the Seahawks settled for a field goal, Booker blocked Jason Myers’ kick, which would have cut the Bears’ lead to eight points.
Bears tight end Colston Loveland fumbled after catching a third-and-long screen pass early in the fourth quarter when the Bears were content to run the clock and punt. Later, safety Cam Lewis intercepted a pass in the end zone, only for the call to come back because of a holding call on cornerback Clark Phillips, who was only in the game because Jaylon Johnson was hurt. Darnold found receiver Cooper Kupp for a seven-yard touchdown pass and cut the Bears’ lead to three when Tory Horton caught a two-point conversion pass with about 12 minutes left in the game.
