Seahawks-Bears on 'Thursday Night Football': What We Learned from Seattle's 6-3 win over Chicago

Seattle Seahawks 6, Chicago Bears 3

1. Seahawks keep NFC West title possibility alive. Heading into the remainder of Week 17, the Seahawks' postseason hopes are still pumping. It was an altogether ugly affair with both offenses struggling mightily, but the Seahawks prevailed thanks in large part to the Leonard Williams-led pass rush netting seven sacks. It ended as the lowest-scoring affair of the NFL season so far (and hopefully for the remainder of the year) and the second without a touchdown. Two Jason Myers field goals led the way for Seattle on the scoreboard, but the defense won the night while the offense fumbled along. The Seahawks generated 122 rushing yards on 25 carries and gashed the Bears early. It was puzzling why they got away from it, but Seattle's 265 offensive yards -- unappealing as that is -- dwarfed Chicago's 179 yards. Williams continued a stellar season with two sacks and the much-maligned Riq Woolen had a game-clinching interception. Now the Seahawks, who own a 15% playoff probability, will sit back and root for the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams, with a win, could still clinch the NFC West on Sunday via strength of victory tiebreaker. If they can't pull that off, or lose, it will be a winner-takes-the-division finale between them and the Seahawks in Week 18. Seattle survived in Chicago.
2. Bears' misery continues with record-tying loss. Mustering a season-low three points, the Bears lost for the 10th straight time, tying the longest single-season losing streak in franchise chronicle. It was a nasty night played out in prime time that was fitting in a calamitous season. In the third quarter, Kyler Gordon smartly returned a fumble 62 yards even though he and the majority of the players on the field believed the play was dead. Bears fans cheered loudly when he crossed the goal line. Moments later, it was called a touchdown and the Chicago faithful erupted. After further review, it was deemed Gordon was down. The Bears got the ball, but not the six. It was a crazy sequence that above all else served as evidence of just how starved the Chicago fans are for something to cheer about. It was one of two touchdowns negated on the night for the Bears (the other was a Rome Odunze TD called back on a hold). So much optimism -- clearly too much -- accompanied the Bears into this season. With one game left in 2024, all that brightness has been clouded by the darkness of a lost season. Once more, there was nothing to cheer about for the Bears fans, who ended the night stridently booing their squad off the field.
3. Geno, Seahawks offense must get better. In his postgame interview on Prime Video, Geno Smith said the right things. He didn't care how ugly Thursday night was, the Seahawks got the win. Should Seattle get through this week and emerge with a chance to play the Rams for the NFC West title in Week 18, Smith and the offense have to be better, though. They were fortunate Thursday to play a dreadful Bears team that lost despite allowing just 12 first downs and five third-down conversions in 13 tries by Seattle. That won't be the case against the Rams, to whom the Seahawks lost in overtime earlier in the season despite Smith chucking it for 363 yards and three touchdowns. Smith never got going Thursday, though the Zach Charbonnet running game did and it was puzzling why offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb went away from it. Smith is mercurial, one week looking like a QB elite and the next a detriment to his squad. On Thursday, he didn't play well, but his counterparts played worse. If the Seahawks have a shot in just over a week, they need the best version of Geno to reappear.
4. Caleb survives another sackfest. Clearly it's not all puppies and rainbows where Caleb Williams' play is concerned, but at this point, the 2024 NFL Draft's No. 1 overall pick just surviving for 17 starts will be a major accomplishment. Any quarterback starting every game is truly a triumph; just 17 have so far this season, per NFL Research. In Williams' case, it would be all the more notable considering the pounding he's taken. He was sacked seven times Thursday to bring his season total to 67, which is second all-time for a rookie and fourth in history regardless of experience. He's taking a barbaric beating on a weekly basis. Some are clamoring for him to sit the season finale, though how much safer he'll be with one fewer game is up for argument. With DJ Moore already in house, the Bears spent the ninth-overall pick on Rome Odunze and then traded for veteran Keenan Allen. The team put talent around him, but clearly didn't put enough in front of him. Heading into 2025, it's quite clear that to truly invest in the future of Williams, the Bears must invest in fortifying the offensive line and an offensive coordinator who can better help the young QB get the ball out quicker and run a scheme that limits the punishment the future of the franchise takes.
5. Metcalf's costly mistakes still stymieing Seattle. It was raining pretty good, and yet DK Metcalf still needed to cool down, which is nothing new unfortunately for the Seahawks. Metcalf shoved Tyrique Stevenson in the face three times ahead of a headbutt during the first half. Then he jawed plenty with DeMarcus Walker. Metcalf, who finished with three catches for 42 yards, was flagged twice on the play with one enforced for 15 yards and a first strike toward being ejected. In his sixth NFL season, the two-time Pro Bowler is still having issues with his poise. He's an all-world wide receiver with four unnecessary roughness penalties and three unsportsmanlikes in his career. Since 2019 when he entered the league, no offensive player has more unnecessary roughness flags than Metcalf, and he's tied for the most unsportsmanlike penalties with Travis Kelce, per NFL Research. It's been an issue before, and it was an issue with his team playing for its playoff life. Seattle rebounded to get a field goal on the drive, but it's well past time for Metcalf to quit penalizing his squad.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Seahawks-Bears (via NFL Pro): Leonard Williams generated six QB pressures and two sacks on 33 pass rushes (18.2% pressure rate) in Week 17 against the Bears, generating five pressures (tied for the most in any game this season) and one of his sacks against double teams.
NFL Research: Caleb Williams' streak of pass attempts without an interception ended at 353 when Riq Woolen intercepted him on the Bears' final drive of the game at the Seahawks 29-yard line with 11 seconds remaining.