SEATTLE — In their first game since they declared their postseason dreams to the rest of the league, the Bears 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.
With that, the Bears proved that they could do one of the toughest things in the sport — match the physicality of the defending Super Bowl champions. When the Bears ran into the locker room with a 13-9 lead, it was clear that the Bears were who they believe themselves to be: contenders for the NFC title.
Quarterback Caleb Williams hung in the pocket and delivered throw after throw with a hand in his face, finishing the half 17-for-25 for 165 yards and a 99.6 passer rating. The Bears had 208 yards in the first half against a Seahawks defense that, thus far this season, had allowed 234 per game.
Defensive tackle Jeffery 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.
The two sides traded second-quarter field goals, a 27-yard Jason Myers kick into the north end zone and a 44-yard Cairo Santos boot into the north end.
The Bears took over at the Seahawks 28 with about five minutes to play and 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 running back D’Andre 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.
The Seahawks took possession and scored their first touchdown of the game with 30 seconds left after 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.
Myers then missed the extra point.