Joe's Gameday Recap: Seahawks 23, Bears 20

After their very first drive that ended in a Matt Forte score, the Bears had to feel plenty of confidence that their one-loss record would stay intact when the day ended. The Seattle Seahawks had other ideas, responding immediately with a touchdown drive of their own and holding the Bears off in a 23-20 win.

Photo by Nam Huh

Matt Hasselbeck found the holes in a weak Bear secondary for most of the afternoon, using Mike Williams' 6'5" frame to pull in quick slants and accurate passes near the sidelines. Marshawn Lynch made an impact in his first game for the Seahawks, rushing for 44 tough yards and giving the offense a physical presence. Add that to Justin Forsett's 67 yards on the ground and you come up with a rushing attack that kept the a Briggs-less and turnover-less Bear defense on their heels for most of the afternoon. Brian Iwuh made a few plays on the ball-carrier, but the Bears can't survive without Briggs in the running game.

The real problems for Chicago were familiar ones. The offensive line was atrocious, giving up six more sacks on Jay Cutler, who looked rattled and nervous in the pocket. He never threw an interception (he got close once or twice though), but he never threw a TD either. Cutler was under assault for the entirety of the game thanks to an inept and stubborn gameplan from Mike Martz, who is showing move Lovie Smith personality traits every week. Martz refused to establish the run at any point on Sunday, putting Jay at risk behind a line that never picked up an outside blitz. Every time a corner or linebacker rushed from the outside, there was Frank Omiyale or J'Marcus Webb looking to the inside towards defenders that were already engaged. A week after Matt Forte ran for 166 yards and two scores, he gets eight carries for 11 yards today. Unacceptable.

This is completely a coaching problem. Martz doesn't call plays that fit the personnel and Tice has to do a better job of actually coaching someone. Problems like the ones we saw today are explained in football 101 and shouldn't occur with that frequency. Where was the running game? Where were the tight ends? How about practicing some timeout management Lovie? Mistakes like this are why no one is taking this team seriously yet.

There were a few positive glimmers during the game, futile as they were. Johnny Knox's 120 receiving yards certainly isn't anything to sneeze at. Cutler obviously likes him and it showed on Sunday. Devin Hester's lake 89-yard punt return gave the Bears a tiny dose of hope, but that was derailed by a horrible onside kick to seal it late.

There won't be any thumping of the chest this week, despite the Bears remaining at first place in the NFC North. This is a game they should have won easily and they failed miserably. Typical Bears.

Happy Jay Cutler Day!