Three points. That's all the Chicago Bears could manage the last time they played the Seattle Seahawks.
The defense did its job that night in December 2024. Seattle never reached the end zone, and somehow Chicago still found a way to lose 6-3. It was the kind of game that made you wonder how an NFL offense could look that helpless.
Nearly two years later, the Bears are preparing to visit Seattle on Monday Night Football. And while Ben Johnson wasn't responsible for that offensive disaster, he'd probably love nothing more than to make people forget it ever happened.
There's another problem, though. Chicago's history on Monday nights isn't exactly something worth celebrating.
The Bears haven't exactly owned Monday nights
For a franchise that's been around as long as Chicago, you'd think its Monday Night Football record would look a little better.
It doesn't.
The Bears have lost more Monday night games than they've won, although recent results offer some encouragement.
Chicago knocked off Washington 25-24 last October and followed that with a 27-7 win over Philadelphia in September. Two victories that looked nothing alike, but both showed something this franchise hasn't always demonstrated under the national spotlight.
An ability to finish the job.
Remember how often Bears fans watched a promising first half turn into an absolute mess? A couple of penalties, a questionable coaching decision, maybe a turnover at the worst possible moment. Suddenly, a winnable game was gone.
Johnson hasn't eliminated every problem. No coach does. But Chicago no longer looks like a team waiting for something terrible to happen.
That's a pretty welcome change.
Seattle has given Chicago plenty of headaches
The Seahawks aren't a traditional Bears rival. They don't share a division, and nobody's circling this matchup because of some decades-old grudge.
Still, Seattle has been a nuisance.
The Bears have struggled in regular-season meetings, even though they've beaten the Seahawks twice in the playoffs. Older Chicago fans probably remember Robbie Gould's overtime field goal during the 2006 postseason considerably more fondly than anything that's happened in this matchup recently.
Then there's that miserable 2024 game.
Chicago couldn't move the football consistently, couldn't finish drives, and couldn't capitalize on a defensive performance that should've been good enough to win.
The Seahawks scored six points. Six!
Most teams would happily take their chances allowing that few points. Chicago somehow turned it into another loss.
At least the Bears have enjoyed some success playing in Seattle. They won there in 2021, overcoming a late deficit for a 25-24 victory.
Of course, that Seahawks team wasn't coming off a Super Bowl championship.
This one is.
Ben Johnson doesn't need another moral victory
Here's where things get interesting.
Two years ago, Bears fans might've been satisfied watching Chicago hang around with a team like Seattle. Keep the score respectable, show a little fight, and maybe have a chance to win in the fourth quarter.
That standard shouldn't apply anymore.
Johnson was brought to Chicago to build an offense capable of winning these games, not merely surviving them. Caleb Williams has had time to develop, the roster has improved, and the expectations have changed accordingly.
Seattle's defense will test all of that.
Playing at Lumen Field isn't particularly enjoyable for visiting quarterbacks, either. The crowd is loud, communication becomes difficult, and one missed assignment can wreck an otherwise promising possession.
Williams will have to handle that environment without allowing the offense to unravel.
Johnson also can't afford to get stubborn if his opening game plan doesn't work. Seattle has enough defensive talent to make life miserable for an offense that insists on forcing something that clearly isn't there.
Sometimes the smartest adjustment is admitting the original idea wasn't so brilliant after all.
This is the kind of game Chicago needs to start winning
Nobody's going to confuse a November regular-season victory with a playoff championship. Beating Seattle won't erase Chicago's losing history on Monday nights or suddenly reverse decades of frustration against the Seahawks.
But it would be another step toward changing what people expect from the Bears.
That's really the difference between the Chicago teams fans have endured and the one Johnson is trying to build.
The old Bears could play terrific defense, hold an opponent to six points, and still find a way to lose.
The new Bears are supposed to be better than that.
Monday night would be a pretty good time to prove it.
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