Bears catch another break: Seahawks (8-9) up next
After a regular season filled with good luck, the Bears get to open the postseason against the team with the worst record to ever make it to the playoffs in a non-strike season.
But that might not be quite the advantage it was considered before the Seattle Seahawks pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history, knocking off the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints 41-36.
The Seahawks, 7-9 in the regular season, are the only team in league history to win a division title with a losing record. They were the biggest home underdogs in a playoff game in league history – 10½ points — yet they prevailed behind the passing of veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and a 67-yard TD run for the ages by Marshawn Lynch.
The Seahawks are no stranger to upset victories. Their first 3 wins this season came as underdogs, including a 23-20 victory in Week 6 at Soldier Field over the Bears, who were 6-point favorites.
The early line for Sunday's noon kickoff at Soldier Field has the Bears favored by 10 points.
In that first game, Hasselbeck, a 12-year veteran, had one of his better outings in what has been, statistically, one of his worst seasons. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 242 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions for a passer rating of 87.7. His go-to guy in that game — as it has been for most of the season — was king-sized wide receiver Mike Williams.
The Bears had no solution for the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Williams, who was targeted 15 times and caught 10 passes for 123 yards, exploiting coverage by both cornerbacks Charles Tillman and 5-foot-8 Tim Jennings, who was, and will be, at an extreme size disadvantage.
That was Jay Cutler's first game back for the Bears after a concussion in Week 4, and he threw for 290 yards but completed just 17 of 39 passes and was sacked six times.
Most of the Seahawks' pass-rushing pressure came from the outside and was provided by blitzes that utilized defensive backs, who combined for 4½ sacks.
That was just the first game at left guard for Chris Williams, the second game for rookie J'Marcus Webb at right tackle and the fourth game at left tackle for Frank Omiyale. And it was two games before Roberto Garza reclaimed his spot at right guard following arthroscopic knee surgery.
In the nine games the Bears have played with their current offensive line alignment, Cutler has been sacked 22 times. In the previous seven games he was sacked 31 times.
The Bears' offense was out of sync most of the afternoon against the Seahawks, picking up just 61 yards on the ground and going 0-for-12 in third-down situations. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz called just 12 running plays compared to 47 passes.
That game was Exhibit A for the Bears when it came time to self-scout during the bye two weeks later.
After scoring on their opening possession, the Bears' offense didn't reach the end zone again against a defense that finished 27th in total yards and passing yards allowed and 25th in points allowed. After that first drive, Matt Forte had 5 carries for 3 yards and finished the day with 11 rushing yards on 8 attempts.
The Bears trailed 23-13 for most of the fourth quarter until Devin Hester's 89-yard punt return with 1:54 left in the game made the final score more respectable.
The Bears did a solid job on Lynch, limiting him to 44 yards on 17 carries, but Justin Forsett gashed the Bears for 67 yards on 10 carries, as the Seahawks outrushed the Bears 111-61. Against the Saints, Lynch finished with 131 yards on 19 carries.
Hasselbeck, whose passer rating of 73.2 for the regular season was 28th out of 31 quarterbacks with enough attempts to qualify, looked like a different player against the Saints. He completed 22 of 35 passes for 272 yards and 4 touchdowns for a 113.0 passer rating after having fluid drained from the injured hip that sidelined him in the regular-season finale.
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