Final Score: Seahawks 6 Bears 3
The Bears dropped another one this week in potentially the most pathetic football game I’ve ever been subjected to. They put up a mere 3 points on 179 yards of total offense en route to a tenth straight loss. This was the quintessential Thursday Night Football game, surely losing all of its non-rooting-interest viewers by halftime.
The defense bounced back after a rough month, but the offense made sure to spoil that. With a trip to Lambeau Field scheduled for next week, the Bears are now facing 4-13 straight in the face after a promising 4-2 start to the season.
Glaring Issues
Dominated in the Trenches
As usual, the Bears were completely dominated in the trenches. The Seahawks were easily able to shed the offensive line, racking up 7 sacks of Caleb Williams and 37 pressures. Meanwhile, the Bears were only able to respond with 3 sacks and 15 pressures of Seattle QB Geno Smith. It’s extremely difficult to come out victorious with such a lopsided deficit in this category.
Stale Passing Attack
The passing game looked immensely stale this week. It felt like half of Caleb Williams’ passes were wide receiver screens. I’m not sure if the weather had a larger impact than the audience could tell, but Williams seemed allergic to throwing the ball downfield. Chicago posed little to no threat in the passing game.
Tight end Cole Kmet also, once again, garnered zero targets. Even though the veteran pass catcher is extremely productive when he gets involved in the offense, he has not been apart of the gameplan since the beginning of the season.
More Clock Mismanagement
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this game was not managed well. Interim head coach Thomas Brown burned two of his three second half timeouts when the clocked was already stopped. The Bears haven’t had a head coach that can manage end of game situations all year long. This needs to be a requirement when looking into the job search this offseason.
Bright Spots
The End is Nearing
The good news- in addition to the fact that Caleb Williams is still standing- is that this is all almost over. Next Sunday is the last until Fall that we have to put ourselves through the emotional torture that is a Chicago Bears game. Our Sundays will be stress-free and peaceful, as they are meant to be.
Standout Performers
Kyler Gordon
Third-year nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon was the best player in navy blue this week. Seahawks slot wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba headed into the game coming off of 8 and 10 catch performances in his previous two weeks. Mainly matched up against Kyler, JSN only made 3 catches in Chicago. Gordon finished Week 17 with the 2nd best PFF coverage grade in the NFL and 4th best PFF overall defensive grade. He was lockdown this week.
Key Drive of the Game
It’s tough to identify one pivotal drive in this riveting 6-3 ball game, but Chicago’s closing drive of the first half may qualify. It resulted in their only 3 points of the night, but the Bears left points on the field. Rome Odunze reeled in a touchdown in the back of the endzone on a beautiful off-platform Caleb Williams dime. Unfortunately, their celebrations were cut short by the voice of the head referee declaring “holding” against fill-in LG Jake Curhan. The Bears settled for 3, leaving 4 points on the table in an eventual 3-point loss.