While the Seattle Seahawks once again face opposition from the NFC North in Week 3, there are a number of changes the Hawks will count on to help the team get back to its winning ways.

The headline-grabbing change is that a certain Legion of Boom member is back with the team. Kam Chancellor reported to the team on Wednesday, after missing the preseason and the first two games of the regular season. The Hawks’ defense has allowed 713 yards of total offense, not to mention 61 points, in Chancellor’s absence. Even if he isn’t 100 percent, the imposing safety will provide a massive upgrade to a Seattle defensive unit that hasn’t looked itself.

Even with the defensive struggles, Seattle isn’t the average 0-2 team. The Hawks could easily be sitting at 2-0 had a few instances gone their way. Both road losses were close, and each game was completely winnable at various stages for the Hawks.

After the 0-2 start, Seattle returns to the Pacific Northwest for the team’s home opener against the Chicago Bears with a golden opportunity to pick up a win.

Chicago opened the season with consecutive losses at home to the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals. In the week two matchup with the Cardinals, Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald torched the Bears’ defense. Palmer tossed four touchdowns, three of which went to Fitzgerald. The Arizona wide-out finished with eight catches (on nine targets) for 112 yards and the three scores. Things weren’t much different in week one either—Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes of his own as Green Bay won on the road. In total, opposing quarterbacks have thrown seven touchdowns and only one interception against the Bears this season.

This could mean a big day is in store, not just for Russell Wilson, but also for Jimmy Graham. After hauling in just a singular catch against the Packers, Graham could be in for a similar statistical output as Fitzgerald, if not James Jones who caught four passes for 51 yards and two touchdowns for the Packers against the Bears in Week 1. Known fact: Graham is 6’7”. Of the 11 defensive starters for Chicago, only Jarvis Jenkins, Jeremiah Ratliff, and Jared Allen are within four inches of the towering Graham. However, none of the three are likely to cover Graham all that often—if at all. Jenkins and Ratliff are defensive lineman while Allen is likely to be more concerned with rushing the passer than playing pass coverage. Translation: Graham could be doing multiple end-zone celebrations by the time the game finishes on Sunday.

While Chicago’s defense has shown the propensity to be a smidgen porous, Head Coach Pete Carroll may favor the matchup between his defense and Chicago’s offense even more. Incumbent Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will miss the game due to a hamstring injury. Starting wide receiver Alshon Jeffery will miss the game as well—also due to a hamstring issue. Fellow starting receiver Eddie Royal is questionable. Essentially, look for a lot of Matt Forte on Sunday, with a little bit of Martellus Bennett sprinkled in. Those could very well be backup Jimmy Clausen’s only significant weapons on offense. That’s not exactly the best news for Chicago. It is, however, fantastic news for the Seahawks. Even if the Bears were at full strength, the Hawks would have been favorites to win the game comfortably. However, without Cutler, Jeffrey, and potentially Royal, the Seattle defense will be raring to against a weakened Chicago offense.

Injury Report

The only Seahawks players ruled out of Sunday’s game are cornerback Tharold Simon and free safety Steven Terrell. Simon has a toe injury while Terrell’s ailment is hip-related. Running back Marshawn Lynch is questionable with a calf injury while tight end Luke Willson is also questionable thanks to a back problem. Cornerback Cary Williams, defensive lineman Michael Bennett, backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and linebackers Mike Morgan and Bobby Wagner are all listed as probable.

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About the author
Ben Rosener
Ben Rosener is a sports writer born and raised in the greater Seattle area. He is a college who is the editor and founder of two sports websites, Kingdome of Seattle Sports and Know Hitter, the latter of which is a member of the BBA. Ben’s work can also be found on the digital pages of Bleacher Report, USA Today, World Soccer Talk and FanSided among others. He only refers to himself in the third person for bios.