Chicago gets little going, falls 26-0 to Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) - If nothing else, the Chicago Bears were efficient.

Ten offensive possessions that yielded 10 punts, no points and ended with the Bears sitting at 0-3 for the first time since 2003 after a 26-0 rout by the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

"We just couldn't generate anything," Chicago coach John Fox said. "I think we flopped around a little bit running it early and that kept us close, but eventually you have to be able to do both pretty well in this league to win games."

Chicago (0-3) was shut out for the first time since 2002 and the fourth time since 1990. The Bears were undermanned, already thinned by key injuries to quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey. They were also facing an angry Seahawks bunch after Seattle started the season 0-2.

Jimmy Clausen was 9 of 17 for 63 yards, making his second start since the end of the 2010 season with Culter out. With sacks included, the Bears finished with 48 net yards passing, the second time since 1990 they finished with fewer than 50 net yards through the air.

Matt Forte was held to 74 yards on 20 carries and the Bears finished with just 37 yards in the second half.

Only one Chicago drive finished in Seattle territory, and the Bears ran just three plays on the Seahawks' half of the field.

"We didn't protect real well, we didn't execute real well in the passing game whether it was routes protection or delivery of the ball," Fox said.

For a while, the Bears hung around and were pestering the heavily favored Seahawks. The Bears trailed 6-0 at halftime and had dominated time of possession.

Everything turned when Seattle's Tyler Lockett returned the second half kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown, providing a jolt the Seahawks needed. It was the longest return in franchise history and gave Seattle a 13-0 lead.

From there Russell Wilson, Jimmy Graham and a defense that was whole again after the return of safety Kam Chancellor took over.

Wilson connected with Graham on a 30-yard TD later in the third quarter and Steven Hauschka kicked four field goals as Seattle posted its first shutout since late in the 2013 season.

"Once we started getting our third downs in the second half, and running, then everything worked out really well," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "It was a good day's work for us."

Seattle's offensive line had a forgettable first half. Wilson was sacked twice by a Chicago defense that had zero entering the game. Chicago forced three punts by the Seahawks and Seattle failed on all six third-down attempts.

That changed in the third quarter. Wilson was 5 of 5 for 110 yards in the quarter and Seattle outgained Chicago 162-24. Seattle finally converted a third down when Wilson hit Doug Baldwin for 22 yards midway through the period and the Seahawks capped the drive with Graham's first touchdown at home. Wilson was protected long enough to find Graham coming open across the middle, watching the big tight end step away from Brock Vereen for the TD.

"He separated. My job is to not let him score and I didn't do my job," Vereen said.

While the Seahawks offense got rolling, Chicago only ventured into Seattle territory once. The Bears reached the Seattle 45 before punting when faced with fourth-and-5. Chicago went three-and-out on four of its five second-half possessions.

Clausen was sacked twice and Chicago's longest play was a 21-yard pass to former Seattle tight end Zach Miller.

"They like to play off and keep everything in front of them and just rally to the ball and then like I said their front four is very dynamic in getting to the passer," Clausen said. "That's what they like to do rush the front four and get to the quarterback and then just have shell on the back end, keep the ball in front of them and make plays."

NOTES: Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch left the game at halftime with a hamstring injury. He was replaced by undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls who rushed for 98 of his 104 yards in the second half. ... Last time Bears were shut out was Week 17 of 2002 season, a 15-0 loss to Tampa Bay. ... Seahawks set franchise record with crowd of 69,002 made possible through a small stadium expansion in offseason.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL