Instant Reaction: Seahawks lay a dud in loss to Bears

It had been quite a while since the Seattle Seahawks had been beaten by more than four points – 687 days to be exact.

That remarkable streak ended on Monday night as the Seahawks were thoroughly outplayed in a 34-17 home loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

Seahawks lose | Box Score

With the loss, Seattle dropped to 4-4 on the season. Chicago improved to 6-2.

Below is the instant reaction to the game from the voice of Seattle Sports.

Mike Salk – Brock and Salk (6-10 a.m. weekdays)

The Seahawks have a problem. It’s been present all year. It started when they lost a very important part of their offensive success last season and wasn’t fixed with the return of their top two running backs nor the with the addition of Quenton Nelson.

No, the lost cog in this wheel was not Kenneth Walker III. It was Klint Kubiak. And without him, this offense looks pedestrian at best. And it’s making Sam Darnold look like the worst version of himself.

Brian Fleury has to figure this out – quickly. His offense is predictable, boring, and without an identity outside of “find No. 11.” And without a steady run game and a bevy of open receivers, Darnold looks lost.

The Seahawks’ defense sure wasn’t perfect in this one. It had its share of mistakes, but they came against arguably the best offense in the league. The offense? Not so much.

You never want to be too reactionary after a loss, especially one to a legitimate Super Bowl contender. But it is hard to see how they can contend themselves without making some sort of a change to their offense. If the current offensive coordinator and quarterback can’t get that done themselves, then the head coach and general manager are going to have to step in.

Bob Stelton – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m. weekdays)

It’s hard to imagine a worse performance on the heels of their best performance of the season. The Seahawks looked absolutely ill-prepared for what Chicago brought to this game.

The Seahawks literally did nothing well in this game and were absolutely dominated in any category you care to look at.

Seeing the offense struggle was not much of a surprise, as it has been massively inconsistent this season. That is not excusing it, as tit was awful. But seeing the defense get absolutely bullied the way it did was surprising. Caleb Williams was as safe in the pocket, and when he wasn’t, he made every big throw he needed to. That coupled with three rushing touchdowns, the Bears did whatever they wanted to offensively.

While it was great to see Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet return, they had no real impact on the game. I don’t blame them as it may take a bit for them to find their rhythm. The reality is the offensive line had a brutal night in pass protection and run blocking, and that was against an almost exclusive four-man rush. Sam Darnold took an absolute beating out there and I give him credit for hanging in on a night where he was not very sharp at all.

If the Seahawks are looking for teaching moments and film to learn from, this game will provide an overflow of both!

Mike Lefko – Wyman and Bob

We haven’t seen a Seahawks team get thoroughly outplayed in all three phases like that since the Bills loss in 2024, Mike Macdonald’s first season at the helm.

That might be the best offense the Seahawks’ defense faces all season, but it is sobering to realize that the Seahawks offense can’t keep pace with a good offense.

To be fair, this was the absolute worst-case scenario to have a backup left tackle, brand new left guard and a guy in Grey Zabel playing at right guard for the first time in his NFL career. It feels like it was some combination of the line not holding up, poor play calling and Darnold taking that big hit early in the game, but he never seemed comfortable in the pocket and the offense as a whole felt out of sync and disconnected.

That in itself feels problematic, especially because it has been a persistent issue all season. It too often feels like a discombobulated series of plays, with no real rhythm or feel to why a play is being called and what comes off of it next. It leads to the third-and-long situations the Seahawks found themselves in for most of the night, and without Jaxon Smith-Njigba turning in a superhuman effort in the first half, there was nothing to really hang your hat on.

The Seahawks already have three losses in the NFC. That is a perilous position to be in when it comes to fighting through potential playoff tiebreaker scenarios down the stretch.

Brock Huard – Brock and Salk

The #Seahawks got "smacked physically in a way we have not in years," says @BrockHuard in his reaction to the 34-17 loss, presented by @Puyallup_Tribe.

More reaction & analysis at https://t.co/sy672x5HGZ. pic.twitter.com/AhXHoDB6oX

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) November 3, 2026

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