Jeffery Simmons Shines in Bears Debut as Chicago Routs Seahawks 34-17

The Chicago Bears beat the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 34-17 on "Monday Night Football" on Nov. 2 at Lumen Field, as newly acquired defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons helped hold Seattle to 252 total yards in his first game with the team, according to the Associated Press game recap published by ESPN. Running back D'Andre Swift scored three rushing touchdowns, all in the second half, AFP reported.

The win was Chicago's third in a row and lifted the Bears to 6-2. Seattle fell to 4-4 and into a tie with the Los Angeles Rams behind the 6-1 San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West, The Seattle Times reported. It was the Seahawks' fourth loss in their last six games.

Simmons makes an immediate impact

Simmons was acquired last week from the Tennessee Titans for a package that included two first-round picks, according to the AP. ESPN's Courtney Cronin reported that the All-Pro learned of the trade on Oct. 29 and practiced only twice with his new team before the trip to Seattle, yet played 48 of the defense's 56 snaps.

He finished with six tackles, a sack and a pass defended, according to the AP and the Guardian. Citing Next Gen Stats, both ESPN and NFL.com reported that Seattle averaged 3.0 yards per play with Simmons on the field and 13.3 yards per play on the eight snaps he sat out. He drew 13 double teams, the only Bears defensive lineman to reach double digits.

"To come in there and have a share of the lead of tackles and a sack in his first game, his impact was profound," Bears coach Ben Johnson said, as quoted by ESPN.

"When I attacked the field, I wasn't worried about the trade," Simmons said. "I wasn't worried about all the outside noise." He also told ESPN, in remarks carried by AFP and the Guardian: "I'm so excited to be a Chicago Bear man."

Defensive end Montez Sweat, Simmons' college teammate, also recorded a sack in his first game back from a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances, ESPN reported. "Jeff was just saying it to me all game, 'We need to get home with four,'" Sweat said. According to ESPN, Simmons moved from 25-1 to 10-1 in DraftKings' Defensive Player of the Year odds after the game.

How the game unfolded

Chicago opened with a 17-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Caleb Williams' 1-yard touchdown pass to Luther Burden III, the Chicago Tribune's Sean Hammond reported. The Seattle Times said it was the most plays in a scoring drive against the Seahawks in 10 years. After a 27-yard field goal by Seattle's Jason Myers, Cairo Santos kicked two field goals to put the Bears ahead 13-3, according to AFP.

Sam Darnold's 43-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 30 seconds left in the second quarter cut the deficit to 13-9 at halftime. In the third quarter, Swift capped a 10-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard run for a 20-9 lead, moments after Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams left with an injury, the Tribune reported. The AP said Williams suffered a stinger and did not return.

Seattle rallied early in the fourth quarter. After Myers had a 33-yard field goal blocked, DeMarcus Lawrence forced a fumble by Bears tight end Colston Loveland, setting up Darnold's 7-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp. A two-point conversion made it 20-17.

The decisive sequence came with 9:01 left, according to The Seattle Times. On third-and-four at the Seattle 39, Swift was tackled behind the line, but the play was wiped out by a delay-of-game penalty. On the replayed third-and-nine, a screen pass to Kalif Raymond, officially ruled a run because the ball traveled backward, went to the Seattle 5, and Swift scored on the next play for a 27-17 lead with 8:28 to go. "Luckily we got delay of game, because I ended up messing up a little bit and it allowed us more time to be able to fix it," Williams said.

Moments later, defensive end Austin Booker tipped a Darnold pass and defensive tackle James Lynch caught it for his first career interception, the Tribune reported. The turnover set up Swift's third touchdown, which made it 34-17 with 4:41 to play, according to the AP.

By the numbers

Williams completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, with no turnovers and one sack taken. Swift ran 27 times for 69 yards, and Rome Odunze led Chicago receivers with 87 yards on four catches, according to the AP, AFP and the Tribune. Chicago gained 363 yards and held the ball for 35:03, both the most by a Seahawks opponent this season, The Seattle Times reported.

Darnold went 17 of 34 for 188 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Smith-Njigba had 118 receiving yards, his seventh 100-yard game in eight this season. Seattle ran for 81 yards and converted one of 11 third downs, despite last week's trade for guard Quenton Nelson and the return of running backs Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price from injuries.

The AP reported that the loss ended a 30-game streak, including playoffs, in which Seattle had not lost by more than four points, the fourth longest by any team in the Super Bowl era. The Seattle Times said the 17-point margin was the Seahawks' largest since a 30-13 loss to Green Bay on Dec. 15, 2024.

"We got beat. No other way to sugarcoat it," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. In separate postgame comments reported by The Seattle Times, he added: "The sense of urgency for us to improve right now is high."

What comes next

The Bears host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on "Sunday Night Football," while the Seahawks host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, according to the AP. The BBC reported that Arizona confirmed Gardner Minshew will start at quarterback in Seattle.