D’Andre Swift ran for three touchdowns, Caleb Williams did not turn the ball over and new defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons sacked Sam Darnold in his debut as the Chicago Bears beat the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 on Monday night, November 2, at Lumen Field.
Chicago improves to 6-2. Seattle falls to 4-4 and has lost three of its last four games. The loss ended a stretch of 30 straight games, playoffs included, in which the Seahawks had not lost by more than four points.
A 17-play opening statement
The Bears took the opening kickoff and moved 80 yards in 17 plays, taking 8:32 off the clock. Swift converted a fourth-and-1 at the Chicago 44 with a 5-yard run, and Williams finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Luther Burden III on second-and-goal. Seattle punted after three plays, and on its second possession Simmons sacked Darnold on first down, although a face mask penalty on Grady Jarrett gave the Seahawks 15 yards back. They punted again after four plays. Simmons had arrived in Seattle with what Simmons said at his introductory news conference.
Jason Myers kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 7-3, but Cairo Santos answered with kicks of 44 and 38 yards before halftime. Seattle then needed only 38 seconds to get a touchdown: Darnold hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba deep down the left side for a 43-yard score with 30 seconds left in the half, although Myers missed the extra point wide left. Chicago led 13-9 at the break.
Swift puts it away
The Bears came out of the half with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that Swift ended with a 1-yard run for a 20-9 lead. Seattle answered with an 11-play drive into Chicago territory, but two Darnold sacks stalled it and Myers’ 33-yard field goal try was blocked in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
The game tightened anyway. On the next Chicago possession, DeMarcus Lawrence stripped Colston Loveland after a catch and recovered the ball at the Chicago 25. A Darnold pass for Cooper Kupp was intercepted in the end zone but called back for defensive holding, and Darnold then threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kupp. Seattle also converted the two-point try, with Darnold finding Tory Horton, to cut it to 20-17 with 11:46 left.
Chicago responded with a six-play, 56-yard drive capped by a 5-yard Swift touchdown run. On Seattle’s next possession, Darnold’s pass for AJ Barner was intercepted by James Lynch, who returned it 16 yards to the Seattle 6. Swift scored from the 5 for the third time, and Santos’ extra point made it 34-17 with 4:41 to play. Seattle drove 69 yards in 11 plays but turned it over on downs at the Chicago 7 when a fourth-down pass to Kupp fell incomplete.
The numbers
- D’Andre Swift: 27 carries for 69 yards and three touchdowns, all from 5 yards or closer.
- Caleb Williams: 24 of 34 for 247 yards and a touchdown, no interceptions, sacked once. Chicago was 7 of 15 on third down and 4 of 4 in the red zone.
- Bears receivers: Rome Odunze had four catches for 87 yards, Colston Loveland seven for 65 and Burden seven for 56 and the opening touchdown.
- Jeffery Simmons: six tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and a pass defensed. Devin Bush also had a sack and six tackles.
- Sam Darnold: 17 of 34 for 188 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, sacked three times.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba: six catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, but the Seahawks gained only 252 yards, ran for 81 and were 1 of 11 on third down.
- Seattle backs: Jadarian Price ran 10 times for 29 yards and Zach Charbonnet six times for 23 in their returns from injury.
What it means
Simmons, acquired from the Tennessee Titans last week, said he was focused only on playing “play after play” and not on the trade. Williams also played the game in all-black cleats after covering up a logo that had reportedly drawn fines in recent weeks. Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald was blunt afterward: “We got beat. No other way to sugar coat it.”
The Bears were penalized 10 times for 85 yards and still held the ball for 35:03. They also lost defensive linemen Jarrett (groin) and Kentavius Street (knee) during the game, and Seattle lost Leonard Williams with a stinger. Details are in our Monday night injury roundup. Before kickoff, Ben Johnson had said the Bears must play their best game of the year.
What comes next
Chicago hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night. Seattle hosts the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
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