Simmons sacks Darnold in Bears debut, Chicago routs Seattle 34-17

Chicago Bears linebacker Jeffery Simmons hit Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold for a sack on the opening drive of Monday night's game. The hit marked the start of a defensive performance that helped the Bears defeat the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 at Lumen Field.

Simmons was acquired from Tennessee the previous week in a trade that sent two first-round picks to the Titans. He made his debut wearing orange sleeves and said he focused only on the football in front of him. "I wasn’t worried about the trade," Simmons said. "I wasn’t worried about all the outside noise. All I was worried about is play after play, just give the team everything I got."

The new arrival finished with six tackles, two sacks, three pressures, and a pass defensed. Coach Ben Johnson called the impact "profound" as the Bears defense held Seattle to 252 total yards and allowed only one third-down conversion out of 11 attempts.

Receiving target Rome Odunze noted the energy shift the move created for the squad. "He has me up off of the bench," Odunze said. "Watching them third downs, watching the defense in general to see what he’s going to do next. He brings the energy to them."

Caleb Williams, who has gone 6-2 this season, completed 71% of his passes for 247 yards. He threw no interceptions and allowed only one sack. His accuracy set up three short touchdown runs by running back D'Andre Swift that built Chicago's lead.

The Seahawks, who are 4-4, lost their third game in four attempts. The defeat snapped a 30-game regular season and playoff streak where they had not lost by more than four points. That streak was the fourth longest in Super Bowl era history.

Seattle coach Mike Macdonald conceded the team failed to execute the necessary tasks to win. "We got beat. No other way to sugar coat it," Macdonald said. "When you look at the things that it takes to win in our league, we didn't do those things and they did."

Darnold completed 17 of 34 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception in the fourth quarter that led to Swift's third touchdown, which put the game out of reach with 4 minutes and 41 seconds remaining. Seattle rushed for only 81 yards despite the return of guard Quenton Nelson and the health of running backs Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price.

Guard Grey Zabel said the offensive line must improve quickly to relieve pressure on the skill position players. "Got to get back to running the ball," Zabel said. "Take the pressure off our quarterback and wide receivers and our play-caller."

The Bears took an early lead on a 17-play drive that ended with a 1-yard pass from Williams to Luther Burden. They extended the advantage with two field goals in the first half. Seattle's only first-half score came on a 43-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 30 seconds left in the second quarter.

A blocked 33-yard field goal by Jason Myers in the opening minute of the fourth quarter hurt Seattle's momentum. DeMarcus Lawrence forced a fumble by Colston Loveland on the next play, setting up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Cooper Kupp. Seattle converted a 2-point attempt to cut the deficit to 20-17 before the Bears closed the game.

Williams covered the logo on his cleats with black tape after the league fined him approximately $35,000 in the past two weeks for displaying an unauthorized brand. "Just to just to calm things down, man," Williams said. "I want to keep that to a minimum from my side."