Seahawks' Quenton Nelson trade just complicated Bears' Week 8 MNF game plan

The first massive domino has fallen with two weeks before the NFL trade deadline, and unfortunately, it will directly affect the Chicago Bears.

Multiple outlets reported that the Indianapolis Colts have traded eight-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks. Indianapolis is acquiring a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.

This is the first of many trades the Colts are expected to make after the firing of their general manager, Chris Ballard. Chicago will now have to watch for Nelson to make an impact in their Monday Night Football Week 8 showdown against the Seahawks.

Quenton Nelson won't make things easy on the Bears if he plays in Week 8

The Seahawks could hold Nelson out for Week 8 if he can't learn the offense fast enough, but with an extra day to catch up, he could play. His appearance in the game will certainly change things for the Bears.

So far this season, Nelson has allowed just six pressures and one quarterback hit in 275 pass-blocking snaps. Pro Football Focus has him as the third-highest-graded interior offensive lineman in the NFL with an 85.7. They also gave him a pass-blocking grade of 81.9 (ranked third) and a run-blocking grade of 82.3 (ranked seventh).

Seattle will now get the help they need in pass protection, and it will also help them in the running game. That will be a problem for the Bears.

Chicago enters Week 8 with the NFL's third-best run defense, allowing 87.6 yards per game on the ground. Seattle enters the game 17th in rushing, with 113.7 yards per game.

This puts more pressure on the Bears' defensive line to step up in the interior to make sure they don't get beat by Nelson. All the attention turns to Grady Jarrett and Kentavius Street in the middle to make sure that doesn't happen. The Seahawks could run more plays up the middle to attack it knowing they have Nelson in there.

How does Dennis Allen and Bears' defense prepare with Quenton Nelson in the picture?

Seattle has been a mixed bag on offense in how they want to do things. Their rushing attack has been wildly inconsistent, and quarterback Sam Darnold has only had success when throwing to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Originally, more of the main concern was stopping Smith-Njigba in the passing game. That way, Seattle can focus more on running the ball and take pressure off the secondary.

Now, the Seahawks can be more balanced, which makes things harder. Guys like Jarrett and Street have to play bigger roles on defense. More importantly, though, the edge rushers, Montez Sweat and Austin Booker, have to be better than ever at pressuring Darnold and much better at stopping the run.

Read more: Latest trade intel has Bears connected to Josh Sweat, Khalil Mack, among others

This throws a wrench in Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's game plan because he needs to be more ready for the run than ever. Allen's game plan is to. Allen gets the defensive ends to step up as pass rushers. It's already tough enough with Chicago playing the defending Super Bowl champions in Seattle on a Monday night, but Nelson only makes things harder.

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