Seahawks vs Bears: a look at Seattle’s week two opponent
By Luke Allen
The Seahawks will be on the road again this week, this time in the Windy City on Monday night. Seattle will take on the Bears after both teams lost close games in their week one match ups.
The Bears (0-1) are an interesting team this year. They went from pretenders to contenders real quick after the team traded for all-pro OLB Khalil Mack just days before their season opener in Green Bay. In just the first half, Mack proved to be as advertised. Chicago will likely improve on their 5-11 record last season. Let’s hope they don’t start against the Seahawks Monday.
Chicago should have beaten the Packers last week. They were up 20-0 and looked like championship contenders before they took their foot off the gas and allowed Aaron Rodgers to pull off yet another ridiculous comeback win.
Chicago has a scary defense. Comprised of rookie Roquan Smith, Khalil Mack, Leonard Floyd and Danny Trevathan at the linebacker spots, this Bears defense aims to carry the team to a playoff bid this year.
The offense is young and unproven. Led by second year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who was taken second overall last year, the Bears offense is in a brand new system under first year head coach Matt Nagy. Chicago bolstered their receiving corps by signing Allen Robinson and drafting Anthony Miller.
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Key acquisitions:
- OLB Khalil Mack
- WR Allen Robinson
- TE Trey Burton
- ILB Roquan Smith
- WR Taylor Gabriel
- WR Anthony Miller
Key departures:
- TE Zach Miller
- WR Markus Wheaton
- G Josh Sitton
Bears players to watch for Monday night
Khalil Mack. Mack had a strip sack, fumble recovery, interception, and a touchdown last week in Green Bay. He is the highest paid defensive player in NFL history for a reason. I will be surprised if he doesn’t live in the Seahawks’ backfield Monday night.
Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard are also a couple players to watch for. Last week, the duo of Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman did whatever they wanted to in the run game against a weak Seattle run defense. This far more explosive duo of Howard and Cohen could have a huge night if the Seahawks’ defensive line lays an egg again.
Matchups to watch
Seattle has been harping on the run game all year long. They want to get back to running the football often and effectively. Long story short, that did not happen last week. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said he wants to run the ball well Monday night. That may be easier said than done, as the running backs will be running against a murderer’s row of linebackers. Winning that match up would be huge for Seattle.
Sticking with the offense, Russell Wilson is going to need to play better than he did in Denver. A lot better. Luckily, the Bears don’t have great cornerbacks and Aaron Rodgers exposed that last week. If Russell can get his quick release game going, the Seahawks should have no problems throwing the ball Monday night.
Injury report in favor of the Bears
Starting guard Kyle Long did not practice Friday with ankle soreness and Chicago is unsure if he will be available Monday. Other than Long, all the Bears starters should be good to go against the Seahawks.
In Seattle, its a much, much different story. Multiple starters appeared to sit out practice Friday.
Bobby Wagner. KJ Wright. Doug Baldwin. Shaquill Griffin. DJ Fluker. Tre Flowers. Six starters, including the two starting cornerbacks, did not practice on Friday due to a variety of injuries. Starting safety Bradley McDougald also appeared on Friday’s injury report as a limited performer in practice.
The injury bug has been brutal — and the Seahawks have only played one game.
A few of those names were not surprises. We knew Wright, Baldwin and Fluker were all banged up. But Griffin, Flowers and Wagner appeared on the injury report out of nowhere. It goes without saying that it is not great when a team’s two starting cornerbacks and two starting linebackers did not practice the Friday before a game.
The team isn’t even sure if newly signed LB Mychal Kendricks will be available to play. The one shred of good news here is the team does not have to make decisions on who plays until Monday night. It is safe to say the Bears are a little healthier than the Seahawks.