3 Reasons Chicago Bears will defeat Seattle Seahawks
After a tough opening loss, the Chicago Bears look to bounce back against the Seattle Seahawks in their second straight primetime matchup.
The Chicago Bears have to put last week’s debacle in the back of their minds as they go up against Pete Carrol and the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.
Both teams have made drastic changes to the structure of their rosters since last season. The Seahawks were once seen as the next NFL dynasty but saw the dream fade as one play call during the Super Bowl created turmoil within the organization. With big names such as Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett on different rosters, the team appears to be heading in another direction.
The Bears, on the other hand, made strides to rectify the bland offense they carried throughout the 2017 season. Adding big names such as Allen Robinson and bringing in an offensive-minded head coach in Matt Nagy has changed the scope of their offensive potential.
While this game is a lot more evenly matched than many realize, here are three reasons as to why the Chicago Bears will win on Monday Night:
1. Seattle’s Offensive Line Woes
Russell Wilson will be the first to attest to the fact that Seattle’s offensive line is troublesome. After trading their premier center, Max Unger, to the New Orleans Saints in 2015, that line has never been the same.
In last week’s matchup against the Denver Broncos, Wilson found himself on his back six times as that Denver pass rush is just filthy. The Broncos arguably have the best pass rush in the league and while the Bears do not hold that title, their pass rush is not far behind.
Von Miller was able to completely dominate the matchup against tackle Germain Ifedi all day. Miller would go on to have three sacks as well as four QB hits in the matchup. The Bears possess a player very comparable to Miller in the form of Khalil Mack. If the Seahawks struggled to contain Von throughout the game, Mack will cause some similar problems to that offensive line.
The Green Bay Packers have always done a good job of protecting Aaron Rodgers, as Bryan Bulaga and David Bakhtiari are two of the best tackles in the game. The Seahawks, however, do not have such fortunes and will struggle to keep Wilson upright. Duane Brown is one name of note on this line, but outside of him, the others would be reserves on most other rosters.
Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd coming off the edges already has to be worrisome for offensive line coach, Tom Cable. Add into the mix Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman rushing up the middle and Russel Wilson will be looking forward to the ice bath early in the game.
One way the Seahawks will try to combat the devastating rush the Bears possess is to emulate the gameplan from Green Bay’s short-pass, heavy offense from the previous week. Wilson is fantastic but Aaron Rodgers is a different beast. The ability to simply know where your receivers will be before they do is a talent unique to those like Rodgers and Brady. Getting the ball off as quickly with a weaker offensive doesn’t seem as easy for Wilson.
The Seahawks will also have to strategically use double teams against certain players as they truly can’t afford to risk many one-on-one matchups. The more players the Seahawks use to chip the rushers means less immediate receiving options, giving the Bears’ corners a chance to redeem themselves against a hurried quarterback with fewer choices as the windows get tight.