Khalil Mack, Bears defense strong in 24-17 win over Seahawks

The Chicago Bears defense was dominant in prime time on Monday Night Football, controlling the pace in a win over the Seattle Seahawks, 24-17. It may look like a close game, but the Bears were always in control, and scored every time the Seahawks started to come back.

The biggest breakdown for the Seahawks came, predictably, on the offensive line. Russell Wilson was constantly under pressure and was sacked five times in the first half alone. Even when he wasn’t being sacked, he was under constant pressure from Khalil Mack and the Bears defense. The Bears finished with six sacks, while Wilson completed 22 of 36 passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Chicago maintained a multi-score lead until the fourth quarter, when Wilson hit Tyler Lockett on a ridiculous touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone, making it a one-score game.

But after a crucial stop by the Seattle defense, Wilson and the Seahawks offense went back on the field and threw an interception to Prince Amukamara, who returned it for a touchdown with just under seven minutes to go. A forced fumble and recovery by Chicago on the ensuing drive pretty much sealed the deal for Chicago.

It wasn’t a pretty game for Mitchell Trubisky, with a pair of bad interceptions to Shaquill Griffin, but he also had a pair of touchdowns and completed 25 of 34 passes for 200 yards. The Bears ran for 88 yards as a team, with Trubisky accounting for 26 of those yards. Jordan Howard had 35 yards on 14 carries.

Below is the live blog from Monday evening, in reverse order.

Bears 24, Seahawks 17, FINAL: Mack forces Wilson out of the pocket, but he still finds Lockett for an 11-yard pickup. Another 8-yard pass to Prosise, then a 4-yard pickup by Wilson on the ground. Brown catches a 19-yard pass, then 7 yards. On a 3rd-and-goal, Wilson finds Dissly for the short touchdown with 14 seconds remaining. The extra point is good and the Seahawks will try an onside kick. It’s another dropkick attempt, but the Bears get it to secure the game.

Bears 24, Seahawks 10, 2:00, 4Q: The Seahawks pick up 8 yards, then a few more on the ground. Wilson gets 4 yards on the ground, and he tries to run it again on the next play, but is hit hard from behind by Floyd, who forces a fumble, which Chicago recovers! That should do it for this one.

The Bears go 3-and-out, but on the punt, they manage to down it at the 1-yard line and nearly get a safety out of it in the process. Seattle takes over, and they pick up 9 yards, then a big one to Dissly for 34 yards. Prosise catches another pass for 6 yards, and we’re at the two-minute warning.

Bears 24, Seahawks 10, 06:37, 4Q: With a one-touchdown lead, the Bears face an early 3rd-and10 after a false start, an incompletion and a 5-yard pass to Burton. They pick up some yards on third down, but not enough to convert, so the Seahawks get the ball right back, on their own 35-yard line.

Penny picks up 6 yards, and then 4 yards for the first down for Seattle. They take a timeout with 7:20 remaining in the game. Penny then picks up a yard and Wilson is intercepted on the following play! Amukamara got it, and took it all the way for a touchdown! It’s once again a two-possession lead!

Bears 17, Seahawks 10, 10:13, 4Q: Penny picks up 10 yards on the first play of the Seattle drive, then just a yard on the next play. Wilson then finds Vannett for 4 yards, then Lockett for 20 yards. Penny loses a yard on a run, then Vanett catches an 11-yard pass from Wilson. Davis is blown up for al oss of yards, then Chicago has an illegal contact penalty that gives the Seahawks a fresh set of downs. Another short run from Penny, and then Wilson hits Lockett for a 19-yard touchdown!

Bears 17, Seahawks 3, 14:15, 4Q: Howard picks up the first down to start the fourth quarter. Then, on a 1st-and-10, Trubisky finds Miller for the short touchdown and an even bigger lead.

Bears 10, Seahawks 3, END 3Q: After a three-and-out on the last drive, the Seahawks need to put something together here. Wilson is incomplete on his first two passes, setting up a 3rd-and-10. They do not come even close to getting it, and punt it away.

From their own 34-yard line, the Bears take over. Trubisky finds Gabriel for 6 yards, then Howard picks up 4 yards for the first down. Howard and Gabriel combine for another first down in two plays. Trubisky then picks up 4 yards on the ground, then hits Bellamy for a 6-yard gain. Gabriel runs 8 yards on first down, and the third quarter comes to an end.

Bears 10, Seahawks 3, 6:36, 3Q: Seahawks get the ball back and after a couple incompletions, it’s a quick 3-and-out for the Seahawks. They punt it to the Chicago 23-yard line.

Trubisky picks up 3 yards nad then 7 yards on passes to Burton and Robinson, getting a first down. He finds Robinson for 6 yards on first down, then Howard picks up 4 on the ground for a first down. Trubisky steps right into a sack on first down, for a loss of 3 yards. He then throws incomplete, and a 10-yard pass to Howard isn’t enough to get the first on 3rd-and-13. So they punt it to the Seattle 8-yard line.

Bears 10, Seahawks 3, 11:36, 3Q: Bears receiver the second half kickoff, and it’s a touchback. Trubisky finds Miller for 14 yards, but it’s called back on an illegal formation. Then he finds Robinson for 7 yards. But he’s sacked for a 12-yard loss by Kendricks, setting up a punt. The Seahawks will take over on their own 31-yard line.

Bears 10, Seahawks 3, END 2Q: Seahawks take over on their own 25-yard line, and Wilson finds Marshall for a quick 18-yard gain. Wilson, though, is sacked for the fifth time for a loss of 6 yards. He manages to pick up 9-yards on the ground to get a first down, though, and the Seahawks take a timeout. Wilson finds Marshall for 8 yards, and then has one go incomplete deep. They then pick up a few yards, and immediately clock the ball with two seconds left. Janikowski makes the 56-yard field goal to put the Seahawks on the board.

Bears 10, Seahawks 0, 1:07, 2Q: Quick 2-yard gain by Cohen, and then a whole lot more when Trubisky hits him for 17 yards. They lose 3 yards on another run, then pick up 8 yards on a pass, so 3rd-and-5. He finds Robinson short, and a second effort gets the Bears the first down. They then pick up 3 yards on a run and 6 yards on a reception. So it’s 3rd-and-1, and they get the first down with a direct snap to Trey Burton. They pick up a couple more yards, but have to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Parkey, which is good for the two-score lead.

Bears 7, Seahawks 0, 6:33, 2Q: So, Bears ball again. Illegal block penalty is called on them, however, so they lose some yards. They get 9 yards on a pass to Gabriel, then an 8-yard pass to Robinson. On first down, Trubisky is picked by Griffin AGAIN! Seahawks ball.

Wilson is sacked for a loss of 2 yards to start, and then Penny goes for no gain. On 3rd-and-12, they are called for a false start and are backed up to midfield. On third down, Khalil Mack sacks Wilson, and strips the ball too! The Seahawks recover, but the drive is over.

Bears 7, Seahawks 0, 10:45, 2Q: The Bears take over, and Trubisky is going deep on first down. Problem: he goes to the wrong team, with Griffin, the corner, snaring an interception. Not ideal! The Seahawks, though, only manage to pick up 3 yards on the ensuing possession before they have to punt.

Bears 7, Seahawks 0, 11:59, 2Q: On 3rd-and-short to start the second quarter, Trubisky keeps it again and has an opening to pick up the first down — but he tries to bounce outside instead, and gets tackles for a loss. Bears punt to the Seattle 13-yard line.

Carson picks up 4 yards on the first run, then loses 9 yards on the next play. On second down, Wilson is sacked for a 7-yard loss, setting up a 3rd-and-22. He completes a pass to Marshall to get some breathing room, but they will punt. It goes out of bounds at the Chicago 38.

Bears 7, Seahawks 0, END 1Q: From their own 25-yard line, Wilson completed to Marshall for a 10-yard pass. Carson picks up 4 yards, and Wilson is nearly picked by Amukamara, but the pass falls incomplete. They don’t get anything else out of the drive and have to punt. The Bears take over at their own 39-yard line, and get 9 yards after an incomplete pass, setting up a 3rd-and-1. They measure after the Howard run, and the Bears are going for it on fourth down. Howard gets it, and the drive stays alive. Cohen picks up 2, then Gabriel picks up 5 and it’ll be another third down when the second quarter begins.

Bears 7, Seahawks 0, 4:55, 1Q: Bears take over on their own 4-yard line, and it’s an offside penalty on the defense to give them some breathing room. Then, a face mask penalty gives the Bears even more room. Incomplete on first down, then Trubisky hits Robinson for 6 yards, setting up an early third down for them as well.

Then he gets Robinson again on a slant over the middle for a first down. On another third down, Trubisky runs for the 6 yards and then some more, picking up a first down. Trubisky then throws a DANGEROUS pass that Mychal Kendricks nearly picked off, but instead it’s Howard for a big gain. Defensive holding penalty on the Seahawks, and the Bears get a 1st-and-goal from 3 yards out. Trubisky hits Burton for the touchdown right away, and the extra point is good for a Bears lead!

Seahawks 0, Bears 0, 10:35, 1Q: Bears kick off to start, and the Seahawks take over at their own 25-yard line. Carson runs to the left side three times in a row, for 13 total yards. A quick incomplete pass to Penny, and the Seahawks have an early third down. It’s a pass to Brown for 10 yards and a new set of downs. They pick up 7 yards, then 2 yards, and it’s a 3rd-and-2. Lynch gets to Wilson, who was trying to pick up the first on the ground, and the Seahawks punt. Dickson gets it to the 4-yard line, where it’s fair caught.

8:00 p.m.: We’ll have a live blog with analysis and highlights right here, so refresh the page once the game gets underway around 8:15 p.m.

Both the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears are both hoping to recover from Week 1 losses in the Monday Night Football matchup in Week 2. They will face each other in Chicago beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET (live streaming via WatchESPN).

Seattle is coming off a close loss to the Denver Broncos, a team they were expected to beat. It was a close one, but ultimately, the Seahawks made too many mistakes on offense and didn’t do enough on the other side of the ball. Russell Wilson threw for 298 yards with three touchdowns, but also had two interceptions and was sacked 6 times for a loss of 56 yards.

The Bears are coming off a wild game against the Green Bay Packers, in which Aaron Rodgers was injured initially. But he came back, and the Packers put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to get the win over Chicago.

Below is all you need to know to watch the game.

Like with how Sean McVay creates opportunities for Jared Goff; an effective, strong run game is important for taking anxiety away from Trubisky and setting up a bunch of plays for him in the passing game—even with how bad Seattle will be defensively. Employing the run to stay ahead of the chains in manageable, less pressurized down and distances is another reason for Nagy factoring it heavily into his gameplan.

The juxtaposed talent of Howard and Cohen; the creativity of Nagy; and the double-teaming, second-level reaching o-line makes Monday Night Football feel deeply unpleasant. Uh-oh.

Of the seven SB Nation experts picking Week 2 games, five of them think the Bears will win it, leaving two to pick the Seahawks. The coin flip and the OddsShark computer, however, are sticking with Chicago.