Stacy Rost: What led to Seahawks’ dismal showing vs Bears

When you lose like the Seattle Seahawks did Monday night, there’s never one reason. But not all are equal contributors.

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You’d be justified, for example, to be furious about not getting a flag and a first down on Devin Bush’s hard hit on Sam Darnold in the first half, or livid that a horrid offensive pass interference call cost Seattle a chance to have the ball at the 1-yard line. But penalties didn’t do this team in.

It would be fair to point to special-teams gaffes — a wild turn from last season’s performance — or personal fouls that gifted Chicago chunks of field. But that didn’t feel like the biggest issue, either.

Sam Darnold’s interception and the ensuing Bears’ touchdown was a dagger that exemplified a much bigger problem with Seattle’s quarterback, but the game felt lost before that moment. Darnold isn’t the best player on his own offense, but failing to get the ball to that player in the fourth quarter felt costly. (As a side note: it’s astounding that Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to produce at the rate he does without a No. 2 receiver drawing much attention away.)

What did the Hawks in was losing to a team that played the physical style of football they’ve long prided themselves on. This game was lost in the trenches, where a Seahawks offense finally seeing the return of its two starting running backs couldn’t get much push and struggled against a Bears defense rushing four. You’d hardly know Quenton Nelson was one of the biggest moves ahead of the deadline — not when Jeffery Simmons was making an impact so routinely. And if you didn’t catch it, the broadcast would let you know about 20 times a half.

Is it time to hold a mirror up to play calling, too? The Seahawks spent a mini bye week after Week 6 trying to figure out what they do best offensively. They managed to get back to it against the Chiefs, but it was clear Monday night Brian Fleury and company need more answers.

On the other side, a Seattle defense that boasted one of the best defensive lines in football left Caleb Williams too much time too often. It struggled to tackle consistently late, which could be indicative of too much time spent on the field against a Bears offense that controlled the clock… or a bigger issue. It’s hard to tell so far.

“Our red-zone efficiency is terrible right now,” Julian Love said afterwards.

Seattle’s veteran leader added that he has faith in how the Seahawks want to play and doesn’t believe anyone is pointing fingers right now, though they didn’t meet their own expectation against Chicago. The Bears were 4-for-4 with four touchdowns in the red zone, an area Seattle’s defense entered the night 30th in the league in.

“We’ve got to tighten some things up,” Love said.

Seattle Seahawks news and more

• Wyman: Bears’ defense flipped the script on Seattle Seahawks
• Brock Huard: Seattle Seahawks show ‘no answers’ for Bears
• Injury Updates: Seattle Seahawks’ Leonard Williams exits in loss to Bears

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