CHICAGO – Now, after taking care of a little bit of necessary business Thursday night that they seemed to make unnecessarily difficult, the Seahawks sit and wait and hope.
The Seahawks got just two Jason Myers field goals in a 6-3 win against the Bears on Thursday night.
That proved enough, thanks to a tenacious defense that got a season-high-tying seven sacks and held Chicago to 179 yards.
The game was in doubt until Riq Woolen picked off a desperation pass on a fourth down that snapped from the Seattle 40-yard line with 11 seconds remaining.
The defense made up for an offense that didn’t score a point in the second half in going punt, fumble, punt, punt on its four full possessions and gained just 265 yards for the game against a Chicago team that fell to 4-12 in losing its 10th in a row.
The game tied for the fewest combined points in a game in Seahawks history, the other a 6-3 defeat at Cleveland in 2011. It was the lowest-scoring game in the NFL this season.
The win improved the Seahawks’ record to 9-7 and assured that they will finish with a winning record in the first season under rookie head coach Mike Macdonald and with general manager John Schneider in full control of football operations. It’s the third winning season in a row.
What the Seahawks really want is a shot at winning the NFC West next weekend in Los Angeles. Those hopes hinge on Arizona beating the Rams on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium and the Seahawks getting the right combination of wins by other teams to prevent the Rams from also sewing up the strength of victory tiebreaker.
The Seahawks improved to 6-1 on the road, contrasting a mystifying 3-6 record at Lumen Field. The Seahawks will have to tie their all-time best road record of 7-1 in 2019 to beat the Rams next week.
Given the way the past few weeks have gone, it seemed ominous when the Bears got the ball back with 5:12 left, still down only three.
The Bears then went for it on fourth-and-1 at their 39 with 2:14 left.
The Seahawks called timeout, then got a break when Bears left guard Jake Curhan – who played for Seattle from 2021-23 – was called for a false start.
The Bears then sent their punt team on the field.
But they then thought better of it and called timeout and sent the offense back on the field.
The Seahawks blitzed and Caleb Williams scrambled and threw on the run to D.J. Moore, who pulled down a high pass and ran to the 49 for a first down.
The Bears then faced a third-and-14 and Williams scrambled and threw a low pass that former Husky star Rome Odunze scooped up for a 15-yard gain to the Seattle 40.
After an incompletion, the Bears then called a timeout with 31 seconds left. On second down, a Williams fade pass to Odunze went incomplete.
Williams then threw high on third down, making it fourth-and-10 at the 40 with 20 seconds remaining.
The Bears decided not to bring on Cairo Santos for a potential tying 58-yard field goal.
Seattle sent safety Coby Bryant on a blitz that forced Williams into a wild throw that Riq Woolen picked off at the Seahawks 22 to end the game.
Two Myers field goals gave Seattle a 6-3 lead at the end of the first half.
The Seahawks received the opening kickoff and responded as if they might literally run away with it, gaining 53 yards to move deep into Chicago territory.
Zach Charbonnet picked up 24 yards on four carries and Kenny McIntosh 29 on three, the two averaging 7.6 per carry, to move to Chicago’s 9.
But on third-and-3, a pass out of an empty set from Smith to Lockett over the middle was almost picked off by Chicago’s Tremaine Edmunds. That forced Seattle to settle for Myers’ 27-yard field goal.
The Bears then punted after each of their first three possessions and Seattle on its next three.
The Bears, though, then used conversions on third downs of 7 and 9 yards – each on screen plays – to move to Seattle’s 17.
But on third-and-10, an apparent TD pass from Williams to Odunze was nullified due to a holding penalty on former Seahawk Jake Curhan, starting due to injury. Uchenna Nwosu drew the flag.
That forced the Bears to settle for a Cairo Santos field goal of 42 yards to tie it with 2:32 left in the first half.
The Seahawks then did what they do best – move down the field with little time left on the clock.
But not before DK Metcalf threw a little degree of difficulty into things getting called or two post-play personal fouls following a 9-yard first-down run by Charbonnet.
Metcalf was flagged after he threw got into it with Chicago defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, appearing to both extend his hand – if not actually throw a punch – and head butt Stevenson before Walker then came over and the fracas continued.
Teammates, including Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, tried to play peacemaker, but Metcalf continued jawing at the Bears as he walked to the sidelines.
The penalty gave Seattle a second-and-16. Metcalf stayed in the game as the Seahawks quickly made up the yardage and moved to the Bears 32. But the drive stalled there and Myers kicked a 50-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the first half.
Seattle had a 178-101 edge in yards at halftime, including 91-28 in rushing.
Chicago forced the first turnover of the game when defensive back Kyler Gordon – a former UW and Archbishop Murphy High (Everett) standout – helped strip the ball from Seahawks tight end Pharaoh Brown and recovered it at the Bears 38 in the third quarter.
With officials making no signals, Gordon got up and ran into the end zone. It was initially ruled a Chicago TD before replay ruled that Gordon was down at the spot.
Brown’s foot appeared to be touching Gordon as Gordon wrestled the ball out of his hand with his knees on the ground.
But the Bears couldn’t move it. Seattle couldn’t either, but Brown’s foot gave the Seahawks the cushion they needed to win it.