Bears Rout Seahawks 34-17 as New Arrival Simmons Dominates
Seven Lights
The Chicago Bears beat the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 34-17 at Lumen Field on Monday Night Football, improving to six wins and two losses while exposing cracks in a Seattle team that had seemed formidable at home.
Jeffery Simmons, traded to Chicago from the Tennessee Titans on Thursday in a package that included two first-round picks, sacked Sam Darnold on Seattle’s fourth play from scrimmage, added another tackle for loss and finished with six tackles and a pass defended. He was given the game ball. “I’m so excited to be a Chicago Bear man,” Simmons told ESPN.
The Bears’ defence held Seattle to 252 total yards and one third-down conversion on 11 attempts, with three sacks and an interception. Caleb Williams completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown without a turnover, taking only one sack, and set up three short scoring runs by D’Andre Swift.
Chicago’s opening drive covered 17 plays and 80 yards, consuming eight and a half minutes before Williams threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Luther Burden III. Two field goals followed, and a one-yard run by Swift early in the third quarter made it 20-9.
Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught a 43-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half. After Bears special teams blocked a 33-yard field-goal attempt by Jason Myers early in the fourth quarter, DeMarcus Lawrence forced a fumble by Colston Loveland that set up Darnold’s seven-yard scoring pass to Cooper Kupp and a converted two-point try closed the gap to 20-17.
Williams answered with another scoring drive, and a Darnold interception in the fourth quarter set up Swift’s third touchdown, a one-yard run that made it 34-17 with 4:41 remaining. Darnold completed 17 of 34 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
The Seahawks, who lost for the third time in four games, struggled again to run the ball despite last week’s trade for guard Quenton Nelson and the return of running backs Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price from injury. The loss ended a streak of 30 games in the regular season and playoffs in which Seattle had never lost by more than four points.
“I’m happy he’s on our side,” Williams said of Simmons. “He helps everybody on that field on the defense.”