The Chicago Bears walk into the loudest building in football on Monday night to face the defending Super Bowl champions. The Seattle Seahawks are sitting at 4-3, and they just dismantled the Kansas City Chiefs 20-3. Chicago is resting at 5-2, getting Montez Sweat back, and Jeffery Simmons walking through the door. The path to the Bears winning on Monday night runs through three things.
Make Sam Darnold give the ball away
Since the start of last season, the Seahawks are 15-0 when they commit one turnover or fewer. When they commit more than that, they're 6-6. Sam Darnold threw an interception to the Chiefs in the end zone, but the defense behind him was enough to keep the Chiefs from using it.
The Bears must not count on that same mercy. The Bears' defense is built for this, from Kyler Gordon's strip sack to ensure the Bears victory in Atlanta, to D'Marco Jackson's end zone interception on Drake Maye. Adding Sweat and Simmons to push the pocket from the inside should cause Darnold to make mistakes, but it won't matter unless the Bears can capitalize.
Keep Caleb Williams patient
Seattle held Patrick Mahomes to only 165 passing yard, and the Chiefs didn't enter the red zone a single time. I'm going to say that again in case you missed it. The Seattle Seahawks didn't allow the Kansas City Chiefs into the red zone at all in this game.
The answer to this is simple. Don't play hero ball. Williams has been much more efficient and accurate in his second season under head coach Ben Johnson, and he's been much more likely to hit his check-down receivers. Playing that sort of small ball should drive the Bears up the field, successfully into the red zone, giving the Bears the chance to score.
Don't let Jaxon Smith-Njigba out of sight
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN) is the reigning offensive player of the year, and he just hung nine catches for 150 yards and a touchdown on the Chiefs. He's easily the most talented player on the field when it comes to the Seahawks, and getting him under wraps is essential if the Bears wish to find a victory.
The problem is that the Bears secondary is where they're the weakest. From rookie Malik Muhammad's toe injury to the woes of Jaylon Johnson, things could be better. If JSN can take advantage of that and grab a handful of chunk plays, then the Bears are going to have a tough time winning.
With two of these three, the Bears could easily leave Seattle one game stronger, and another step closer to catching the Minnesota Vikings. Win all three, and nobody gets to say that the Bears are a nice story anymore.
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