Even by already-low preseason standards, the Seattle Seahawks played a very uninspiring game of football. On Thursday night in front of the 12th Man for the first time this summer, the Seahawks fell to the visiting Chicago Bears 27-11 in their second preseason game.
Right from the get-go, the Seahawks were sloppy for most of the night and it cost them dearly. Some late-game magic with a botched Bears punt return and recovered onside kick weren’t able to overcome Seattle’s slow start.
In fairness to the Seahawks, they did play last Saturday night in Pittsburgh with a quick turnaround to a Thursday. The exceptionally short week of practice and lack of key starters playing meaningful time would make it difficult for any team to play a competent game.
Regardless, there is more than enough room for improvement for the Seahawks before their preseason finale next Friday in Dallas.
Room for improvement: The entire offense
The best thing I can say about the Seahawks’ offensive performance is they avoided their first preseason home shutout loss since 2002. Five of Seattle’s seven first-half possessions resulted in a punt, and one ended when the first half concluded.
The only promising drive of the first half involved a 41-yard pass to Penny Hart which set the Seahawks up nicely at Chicago’s 27-yard line. That particular drive ended with a missed Jason Myers field goal from 47-yards out.
Seattle actually outgained the Bears in net-yardage in the first half 154-151, but trailed 17-0 at halftime, thanks in part to a last-second muffed punt return from Cade Johnson which was returned for a Chicago touchdown.
Standout: Darwin Thompson
Last week, Seattle’s running back corps had a nice outing against the Steelers. On Thursday against Chicago, the backs were some of the only bright spots in a mostly dismal offense performance.
Tavis Homer led the way 44 yards on five carries and DeeJay Dallas led the team with four receptions for 52 yards. But the one running back who stole the show was career journeyman Darwin Thompson.
Thompson had 34 yards on six carries, but he managed to score the only touchdown of the game for Seattle with an impressive 8-yard scamper. He also had Seattle’s only memorable highlight with this hurdle towards the end of the third quarter.
HURDLE ALERT. Darwin Thompson took flight!
📺: #CHIvsSEA on ESPN
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/duqkxIEtbt pic.twitter.com/CuKh83x0vA— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2022
Room for improvement: Charles Cross
Charles Cross became the highest player drafted by Seattle in over a decade when he was selected No. 9 overall in the 2022 NFL draft. The Seahawks were widely praised for selecting one of the best left tackles available in the draft, and Cross was immediately seen as a key starter in the Emerald City.
Against the Bears, however, Cross struggled mightily. Charles Cross was flagged a staggering five times during the game. One was for holding, and four were a result of false starts.
Lumen Field is rightfully regarded as one of the NFL’s most challenging environments thanks to the 12th Man, and false starts are commonplace (just ask the New York Giants) but typically this is a struggle specifically for opposing players . . .
Room for improvement: Special teams
Seattle’s special teams had a particularly rough night as well. Sure, they salvaged their performance a bit at the end when they recovered an onside kick in the fourth quarter, but it certainly wasn’t enough to keep them off this list.
Troubles started when Jason Myers missed the aforementioned 47-yard field goal, once again resurfacing valid concerns 12’s have about his reliability. Then, right before the end of the first half, return man Cade Johnson muffed a punt at Seattle’s own five-yard line, which was immediately converted into a Chicago touchdown. The score put the Bears up 17-0 at halftime, and with how Seattle’s offense was playing, effectively put the game out of reach.
To add insult to injury, following Seattle’s first points of the night, the Seahawks allowed former Eastern Washington standout Nsimba Webster to return the ensuing kickoff 58 yards. Chicago added another field goal shortly after for their final points of the night.
