Chicago Bears Look For A Win Against The Seattle Seahawks

While the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks may not share the same conference, the teams should be awfully familiar with one another. The Bears and Seahawks have made a tradition of playing each other during the regular season, as well as the playoffs as the Bears’ last playoff victory came in 2010 against the Seahawks. In the previous match-up between the Bears and Seahawks, the Seahawks defeated the Bears 38-14 last season. The Bears were leading the Seahawks 14 to 7 at halftime in that game, in the second half of the game, the Seahawks scored 31 unanswered points.

Nov 25, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) runs the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the second quarter at Soldier Field. The Bears beat the Vikings 28-10. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

The Bears hope for a different outcome this time around. They key for the Bears will be the offensive line. Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears showed a sustained commitment to run and that led to Michael Bush scoring two rushing touchdowns. Matt Forte, after injuring his ankle against the Vikings, will play today against the Seahawks. Though, the offensive line may make life difficult for the Bears’ running backs against the Seahawks. After injuring his knee against the Vikings, starting left guard Chris Spencer will not be active today. Edwin Williams is filling in for Spencer. On the right side, Gabe Carimi will be replacing Lance Louis as the team’s starting right guard. The Bears were encouraged with Carimi’s play at the guard position last week against the Vikings, though, there was a reason why Carimi was available to fill in for Louis; that reason being the former Wisconsin Badger was benched in favor of Jonathan Scott at the right tackle position. No word on whether or not Andre Gurode will be active for today’s game, though, it does not appear that the veteran guard will have an impact on today’s game.

Offensive line problems not withstanding, the Bears’ offense is going to have to once again show a commitment to the run. The Seahawks’ defensive line has the potential to wreak havoc on opposing offenses, as they showed in their victory over the Green Bay Packers during Week 3 of the NFL season.  The one thing that the Packers’ offense does not feature is a running back. While Forte and Bush may not rush for many yards, it is important that Bears’ offense continues to produce rushing attempts on Sunday. That was the Bears offensive strategy last week against the Vikings and it created many opportunities for quarterback Jay Cutler. The Bears will be without two receivers on Sunday as Alshon Jeffery continues to rehab from his knee surgery and Devin Hester is sidelined because of a concussion he suffered against the Vikings last Sunday.

The Bears defense is going against an impressive rookie quarterback in Russell Wilson. While Wilson may not be the tallest of quarterbacks, the Seahawks have created an offensive strategy that allows Wilson to throw the ball down the field with some degree of success. Part of what makes Wilson so dangerous is his ability to run the ball. Behind Marshawn Lynch, Wilson is the Seahawks’ second leading rusher. The Bears have generally played well against dual-threat quarterbacks, and expect that trend to continue on Sunday. While the offensive line is an important factor in today’s game for the Bears, it will once again be the Bears’ defense that carries the team to a victory over the Seahawks.