Bears face Seahawks after blockbuster trades

The Chicago Bears host the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night after both franchises completed major personnel moves earlier in the week. The matchup pits the Bears’ offense against a Seattle defense that ranks second in the NFL for havoc rate. This metric tracks sacks, pressures, tackles for loss, forced fumbles, interceptions, and pass breakups.

Seattle’s defensive unit is led by cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Bears head coach Ben Johnson noted that Witherspoon still impacts games despite moving from the slot to outside cornerback. Witherspoon holds the 10th-best coverage grade among NFL cornerbacks who played at least half their team’s snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Safety Julian Love ranks second among safeties. Love is a Chicago-area native who played high school football at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park. He won the Sun-Times Football Player of the Year Award in 2015 and was drafted by the New York Giants after attending Notre Dame.

The Seahawks also feature edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence and defensive tackles Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy. All three players rank in the top 20 in pass-rush win rate at their respective positions. Since allowing 31 points to the Washington Commanders in Week 3, Seattle has allowed an average of 18 points per game. They conceded just three points to the Kansas City Chiefs in their most recent contest.

The Seahawks acquired guard Quenton Nelson in a trade this week to strengthen their offensive line. Nelson has made the Pro Bowl in all eight of his professional seasons. Seattle had given up 10 sacks and 26 quarterback hits in back-to-back losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos. Against the Chiefs, the Seahawks allowed no sacks and only two hits on quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold posted a 96.9 passer rating in that game, up from 64.6 and 52.6 in the two weeks prior.

On the ground, the Seahawks rank among the lowest in the league for rushing efficiency. Entering Week 8, only eight teams averaged fewer yards per carry than Seattle’s 3.9. The team released Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker in March. Running back Zach Charbonnet, who tore his knee last season, is scheduled to make his season debut Monday. First-round pick Jadarian Price has not played since Week 4 due to a chest injury. Seattle must activate Price off injured reserve on Monday afternoon for him to be eligible to play.

The Bears and Seahawks met on Oct. 18, at which time Nelson played for the Indianapolis Colts and Jeffery Simmons played defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans. Nelson joked this week that he cannot find a way to avoid Simmons, with whom he has shared a division since 2019.