Rapid Reaction: Seahawks Unravel Down Stretch, Suffer Ugly 34-17 Loss to Bears
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Seahawks looked set to make a vintage late game comeback, but the Bears had other plans by putting down the hammer late to send Mike Macdonald’s squad back to .500.
SEATTLE, Wash. - Yielding 14 points unanswered in the fourth quarter with an unfortunate interception sprinkled in, the Seattle Seahawks self-destructed in the closing moments as the Chicago Bears captured a 34-17 win on Monday Night Football.
Under consistent duress all night, Sam Darnold struggled to find his comfort zone completing 17 out of 34 passes with a pair of touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp and a fourth quarter interception by defensive tackle James Lynch. Demarcus Lawrence turned in the signature play on defense, forcing a fumble on tight end Colston Loveland and recovering it to set up Kupp’s touchdown.
Five takeaways from a dreadful prime time showing at Lumen Field:
1. Offense resembles a ship with only one oar, albeit a phenomenal one.
Nothing short of spectacular week after week, Smith-Njigba once again put the Seahawks on his back when nothing else seemed to be working for Brian Fleury's offense. Catching four of Darnold's seven completions in the first half, he accounted for 92 of the team's 94 passing yards, including a 43-yard bomb that closed the gap to 13-9 inside a minute to play in the first half. Earlier in the half, he turned two quick bubble screens into 21 and 16-yard gains to set up a Jason Myers field goal to open Seattle's scoring.
But away from Smith-Njigba, as has been far too often the case this season, Darnold didn't have much rolling with other targets, going 12 for 24 for 143 yards. Kupp didn't have a single catch until his seven-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, while Tory Horton got rocked on his first two targets and couldn't hold onto the football, finishing the night with two catches and a two-point conversion reception. Tight end AJ Barner also had a quiet night with two catches on five targets. The lack of production from secondary targets continued a troubling trend, as Smith-Njigba didn't have any receptions in the second half until late in the fourth quarter when the outcome had already been decided.
