Seahawks’ offense struggles in 24-17 loss to Chicago Bears

The Seahawks were missing two Pro Bowl linebackers on their defense on Monday on Chicago, but it was the offense minus Doug Baldwin that had the tougher time against the Bears.

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While the defense gave Seattle a chance with two interceptions and holding Chicago’s offense to 17 points, the Seahawks’ offense managed just two scores – a field goal and a touchdown – and Russell Wilson threw a pick-six in the fourth quarter as the Bears won 24-17.

Here’s a quarter-by-quarter look at the Seahawks’ Week 2 loss at Soldier Field.

First quarter

Bears 7, Seahawks 0

The Seahawks tried to show from the start that they were serious about establishing the run a week after they struggled to do so. Chris Carson took handoffs on the initial three plays of the game, including a 9-yarder on the first and a 2-yard run for a first down on the next. That opened up the passing game some as Jaron Brown made a 10-yard catch on a Russell Wilson pass on third-and-8 for another Seahawks first down, but Wilson was sacked on the next third down, leading to a fairly normal punt by Michael Dickson – which is to say it traveled 40 yards and pinned the Bears at their own 4.

Coming up empty on the opening drive did Seattle no favors, however, as its weary defense needed all the help it can get with Wagner and Wright, rookie cornerback Tre Flowers and second-year safety Delano Hill all inactive. As such, the Bears needed all of 10 plays to go 96 yards and take a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Trubisky to Trey Burton.

The Seahawks were forced to punt again on their next series, going three-and-out, and the Bears were driving near midfield as the quarter ended.

CHI – Trey Burton 3 pass from Mitch Trubisky (Cody Parkey kick), 4:55

Second quarter

Bears 10, Seahawks 3

The good news: Shaquill Griffin had not just one but a pair of highlight-reel interceptions, the first two of what the Seahawks hope will be many this season.

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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 18, 2018

The bad news: The offense was unable to do anything about it against the stout Chicago defense.

The from-bad-to-worse news: Dickson had his first true shanked punt for the Seahawks, a 10-yard kick that gave the Bears the ball at their own 49.

Chicago took that favorable field position and pushed all the way to Seattle’s 7, and while Justin Coleman nearly picked off Trubisky at the goal line after he was pressured on third down, the Bears’ Cody Parkey kicked a 25-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-0.

The Seahawks gave Sebastian Janikowski a chance to get them on the board at the end of the half, Russell Wilson and the offense picking up 37 yards on seven plays. Janikowski did just that, hitting from 56 yards. Not bad for a 40 year old who didn’t play last season.

CHI – Cody Parkey 25 FG, 1:07
SEA – Sebastian Janikowski 56 FG, :00

Third quarter

Bears 10, Seahawks 3

The defenses took over and turned the game into a battle of field position in the third quarter. Neither team scored, each punting twice.

The Seahawks’ offense had just 80 yards to its credit after three frames, at least partially the impact of being without Baldwin.

On defense, however, Seattle got immediate impact out of new linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who came up with a big sack to force the Bears into a punt early on in the third quarter.

Fourth quarter

Bears 24, Seahawks 10

Chicago didn’t waste time after the fourth quarter started to add to its lead, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Trubisky to Anthony Miller inside the first minute of the frame.

That’s when the Seahawks’ offense woke up.

Going to a hurry-up, Seattle chewed up 75 yards of field on 11 plays, including a 10-yard rush by first-round pick Rashaad Penny on the first play of the series. Wilson connected with a sprawled-out Tyler Lockett in the corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown, bringing the Seahawks back within a score of the Bears with just over 10 minutes to go.

The Seahawks showed some conviction in giving Penny a chance to get the run game going, which was somewhat encouraging but also curious considering Chris Carson had 24 yards on six carries at that point but hadn’t seen much action in the second half.

While the offense had woken up earlier in the fourth quarter, a big mistake put the score out of reach. Wilson didn’t see Prince Amukamara coming on a pass attempt with about 6 1/2 minutes to go, and the Bears cornerback picked him off and eluded Wilson trying to make a tackle on his way to a 49-yard interception return.

A lost fumble ended a promising drive on Seattle’s next possession, though Wilson led an 11-play, 99-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard TD pass to Will Dissly with 14 seconds remaining to give the Seahawks a prayer if they could recover an onside kick. Seattle let Dickson show what he could do in that situation with a dropkick, but the Bears recovered and escaped with the win.

CHI – Anthony Miller 10 pass from Trubisky (Parkey kick), 14:15
SEA – Tyler Lockett 19 pass from Wilson (Janikowski kick), 10:13
CHI – Prince Amukamara 49 interception return (Parkey kick), 6:37
SEA – Will Dissly 2 pass from Wilson (Janikowski kick), :14

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