Bears’ playoffs hopes crumble as resurgent Seahawks win 38-14 – NFL Week 15 Recap
Surprise, Surprise! The Chicago Bears have lost again, this time to Seattle Seahawks at the Soldier Field with replacement quarterback Caleb Hanie and the Bears defence the main culprits behind the defeat.
The playoff wildcard spot was on the line yet the Bears could not lift themselves up out of the mire and suffered their fourth straight loss since regular quarterback Jay Cutler got his infamous thumb fracture. A resurgent Seattle Seahawks side played with discipline, defending well and harassing Hanie into making mistakes that were taken full advantage of.
The Bears quarterback again looked out of his depth. It started off well enough for Hanie in the first half as he threw his only touchdown pass of the game with Bears taking a 14-7 lead yet the second half revealed glaring weaknesses in his passing abilities. Hanie threw three interceptions during the game and completed just 10 out 23 attempted passes for a meagre 111 yards. The Seahawks defence also did not make things easier, harassing Hanie into making critical errors leading to the quarterback getting sacked four times.
"Our game plan every week is to get heat on the quarterback and make him make mistakes," said Seahawks defensive end, Chris Clemons. "So today in the second half, we had opportunities to take advantage of that."
As the Bears playoff hopes went down the drain, the Seahawks increased their chances to qualify for the postseason. Seahawks are peaking at just the right moment winning their third game in a row. Marshawn Lynch had a huge part in the Seahawks recent surge up the standings and this game was no different. The running back completed 1000-yards for this season and scored two touchdowns.
Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson supported the offense well completing 19 out of 31 passes for 227-yards with one passing touchdown. Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll couldn’t hide his glee at his team’s second half performance
"Yeah, baby. The turnaround at halftime was remarkable," Coach Pete Carroll said. "To see big Red score a touchdown, oh man, that warmed your heart."
Marshawn Lynch started off the game on fire. With just seven minutes gone in the first quarter Lynch rushed for two-yards to score the game’s first touchdown and give Seattle a 7-0 lead. Bears hit back six minutes later when a Seahawks fumble in the end-zone led to Bears Israel Idonije recovering the ball to equalise the scoring.
The Bears started off the second quarter well. Hanie sent a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kahlil Bell near the end of the second quarter to give Bears a 14-7 lead.
Seahawks will not let Bears score again throughout the final two quarters. Hanie was always under pressure with the ball and the Seahawks defence was ruthless against the quarterback. Marshawn Lynch got things level again early in the third with his second touchdown from a three yard rush. A few seconds later defensive end Red Bryant caught Hanie’s pass forward and rushed to score a 20-yard interception return.
The Seahawks ended the third quarter with a 33-yard field goal from Steven Hauschka to bring the score to 24-14. Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson sent his first passing touchdown in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard pass Michael Robinson. The Seahawks settled the game with another interception return this time from 42-yards by Brandon Browner to win 38-14.
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