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Bear Digest

What's at Stake for the Bears in Showdown With Defending Champion Seahawks

Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson and the Bears are entering a big-time game with plenty to battle for when they face the Seahawks and the "12th man" at Seattle.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams is prepared for the prime-time test of potential Super Bowl teams.
Caleb Williams is prepared for the prime-time test of potential Super Bowl teams. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect



Leave it to the Bears' media and fan darling to frame Monday night's game with Seattle the right way.

The Bears need this game at Seattle to gain ground in the NFC North, but they also need it to live up to the growing tide of support pushing them toward the top of the league. QB Caleb Williams realizes it.

“I often tell my guys, ‘Man, we're the best in the world, B-I-W,' " Williams said. "That's the mindset we like to go into games and practice with that mindset. So, that mindset, you have to hold yourself to a certain standard and that's what these primetime games are. They're the league seeing us as one of those teams that's the best in football and we want to go out there and prove ourselves each and every week.

"It doesn't matter if it's primetime or not, but in that sense of it being primetime, that's what the league wants for us. That's what we want for ourselves. I think we've shown that from last year to this year and we want to keep chugging along."

Must-see TV

It mgiht not be surprising to see the TV ratings for this one blow through the roof like last year's Bears-Packers playoff game and Bears-Rams playoff game.

Williams and national TV against anyone is must-see NFL. Williams against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Dark Side defense, in Seattle is the closest thing to the playoffs anyone gets until January.

"They're second in the league with the amount of turnovers that they've had. 12 turnovers in half the year, I mean, they rally to the ball," Williams said. "They’ve got players, they got the scheme like I said, so they're fully equipped over there to do whatever they need as a defense and as a team. Like I said, it's going to be a fun challenge for us.”

It tests Williams, who always seems to be getting challenged by someone. No quarterback in the NFL gets as many fraud accusations as Williams and yet he has lived up to everything the Bears expect, ranking fourth in EPA per dropback, fifth in passer rating (105.6), fifth in yards per attempt (8.2) and second in completion percentage (71%).

Another departure this year from his past has been an ability to play better on the road than at home. Although his two road opponents were from the struggling NFC South, he has a 118.8 passer rating for those games and 90.1 at home. He has eliminated his past tendency toward slow starts yet remains a fourth-quarter force with a 121.8 passer rating in the final quarter.

It's not just Williams with something to prove in this game. Ben Johnson's reputation is beyond reproach but he can take it even a little higher by beating a defending champion on the road. It wouldn't be the first time he did it. As Lions offensive coordinator, Detroit beat Kansas City on the road to start the 2023 NFL season and stamp themselves contenders. Doing this against the resident defensive genius of the league, Seattle coach Mike Macdonald, could only further strengthen Johnson's reputation.

"Certainly when you see a team that's playing as well as they are across the board, and then as an offensive play caller seeing a defense that's playing as well as they are, yeah, it brings out your competitive juices," Johnson said. "So it is fun from that regard.”

High competition even for Ben Johnson

When Johnson's competitive juices are summoned, watch out. Just ask Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

Putting all of this together with the debut of defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons as a Bears defensive force adds to the circus effect. Imagine the momentum from a Bears win over the defending Super Bowl champions on the road with Simmons in only his first game.

"This team believes in what they have here, and they want it right now," Simmons said. "My game, my passion, my energy, my leadership, I can only help this team even more than what it's got."

The Bears have tangible assets at stake. They can be a game behind Minnesota with a win, and can tie San Francisco and Minnesota for most wins in the NFC. They would win their third straight for the first time this season.

"They’ve got players, they got the scheme like I said, so they're fully equipped over there to do whatever they need as a defense and as a team. Like I said, it's going to be a fun challenge for us,” Williams said.

None of that seems bigger than the fact they can certify themselves as true title contenders with the win.

It's the chance to take a noticeable step up in one game during the NFL season and opportunities so well defined are rare even in a league when showdowns are touted on a weekly basis.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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