The third game of the preseason is typically when you see the most action from the projected starting lineups for clubs and if Friday night’s events are any indication, the Seattle Seahawks are primed for a run at defending their Super Bowl rings. From the opening kickoff at CenturyLink Field, the Seahawks dominated the Chicago Bears in all three aspects of the game.
Percy Harvin took the opening kickoff out of the end zone for a 46 yard return. Less than four minutes later, the Seahawks ran 7plays for 61 yards and a touchdown highlighted by a 3rd and 4 conversion when Russell Wilson hit Harvin for a 25 yard gain. On the very next play, Marshawn Lynch ran the ball into the end zone from 7 yards out. That was essentially all fans saw of Marshawn Lynch as he handed over RB responsibilities to Robert Turbin and Christine Michael the rest of the way.
On the ensuing possession, Chicago moved the ball to midfield but was forced to punt. The Seahawks took over at the own 11 yard line and proceeded to march down the field for a 14 play, clock killing drive that mixed run and pass very nicely. At the 2 yard line, Russell Okung was flagged for a false start but Wilson saved the drive by scrambling for a 7 yard TD run. The score was only 14-0, but Seattle was showing such dominance on offense that it was already looking grim for the Bears.
Pete Carroll would go on to say after the game, “The entire offensive group is just executingat a good clip right now.” Said Wilson, “I thought the way that we played tonight was exceptional.”
After another short, stalled drive by Jay Cutler and the Bears, the Seahawks took the ball 83 yards down the filed on 11 plays for another touchdown drive in the 2nd quarter. This time it was Wilson pinpointing a pass to Jermaine Kearse who beat the CB and had the ball in his hands before the Safety could get over to knock the ball away.
The Seahawks Special Teams play came up big after each score, tackling the Bears before they could break out any big return. However, it was Earl Thomas who started the highlights with a 59 yard punt return to put the Seahawks in scoring position once again. It was a touchdown saving tackle from Punter Pat O’Donnell that stopped Thomas from scoring – who will likely receive a lot of grief in practice this week from his teammates.
Three plays later, Wilson hit RB Christine Michael for a 7 yard screen pass and touchdown run, giving the Seahawks a commanding 28-0 lead over the Bears.
With under two minutes to play in the half, the Bears were able to drive down the field against the Seahawks and were in position to go in for a touchdown. Cutler hit Martellus Bennett for a 22 yard gain and what the Bears thought was their first touchdown. However, Bennett was ruled down by contact at the 1 yard line. After a failed run attempt, Cutler hit TE Dante Rosario on a crossing route for a toucdown. However, WR Brandon Marshall was called for pass interference on the play and the touchdown was called back. On the next play, Cutler threw a lazy pass to the pylon and it was picked off by Seahawks CB, Jeremy Lane and returned to the Seahawks 43 yard line.
With 15 seconds left in the half, Russell Wilson scrambled for 9 yards and then hit TE Zach Miller for 7 more. Steven Hauschka drilled a 59 yard field goal as time expired giving the Seahawks a commanding 31-0 lead at the half. At the half the Seahawks offense was an impressive 7-7 on third down conversions and dominated the game in all three aspectes.
Bears Coach Marc Trestman had seen enough and went to his backup QB, Jordan Palmer to start the third quarter. Conversely, Pete Carroll stuck to his plan to play many of the starters into the 3rd quarter and the defense forced a quick three and out. Russell Wilson took the Seahawks 21 yards on the ensuing drive but Hauschka missed a 53 yard field goal attempt – the first time in the game the Seahawks didn’t walk away with points from an offensive drive.
Tarvaris Jackson took over on the next Seahawks drive and led a 10 play, 44 yard drive into the red zone. The drive stalled and the Seahawks settled for another field goal from Hauschka, giving the Seahawks a 34-0 advantage. Coming out to start the next drive, Jordan Palmer and the Bears were flagged for a delay of game on 1st down, essentially summarizing how their trip to the Pacific Northwest was going.
After trading possessions, the Seahawks punted for the first time in the game in the 4th quarter. Jimmy Clausen took over at QB for the Bears and played relatively well, all things considered. Clausen led the Bears on an 11 play, 51 yard drive that put the Bears on the board with a field goal.
Terrelle Pryor took over the reigns at QB for the Seahawks and short armed a bootleg pass on 1st down. That is a pass that Pryor is going to have to prove he can make so that the Seahawks coaching staff can trust him to run a few gadget plays here and there throughout the season. Two plays later Pryor threw an interception giving the Bears the ball back.
With good field position, the Bears couldn’t do anything with the ball and had to settle for a 38 yard field goal from Robbie Gould. The Seahawks took posession of the ball with 2:35 left on the clock, picked up one first down after the two minute warning. With two kneel downs from Pryor, Friday night’s game mercifully came to an end.
The Seahawks dismantled the Bears with a convincing 34-6 victory. The team comes out of the game relatively unscathed, with LB Heath Farwell injuring his groin late in the game and potential third string TE Cooper Helfet leaving the game with a shoulder injury.
You couldn’t ask for a more convincing performance from the Seahawks, who have outscored their opponents 75-20 in two preseason games at CenturyLink. Seattle will wrap up their preseason next Thursday, 8/28 in Oakland to take on the Raiders. The players competing for roster spots will likely see the bulk of the action next week. However, it looks like the Seahawks are ready to roll and are primed to defend their championship.