Chicago Bears use stunning comeback to eliminate Seahawks

Despite struggling on offense again, the Chicago Bears kept the game close against the Seattle Seahawks. They then used a fourth-quarter comeback for a stunning comeback.

Rejoice, the Chicago Bears won a game! For only the second time since Week 5, they opened up Club Dub. It’s been a slow year for that club.

After seemingly sleepwalking through most of the game, the Bears used a fourth-quarter comeback to stun the Seattle Seahawks 25-24 and eliminate them from playoff contention.

Things did not look good from before the game even started. Head coach Matt Nagy, perhaps coaching his final game in Chicago, announced before the game that quarterback Justin Fields, the main reason a lot of fans still watch the Bears, would not start, even if he was healthy. He suffered an ankle injury in last week’s loss against the Minnesota Vikings. As it turned out, he wasn’t even activated for the game.

That meant that former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, relegated to third-string quarterback and not seeing any action this season, stepped up to start.

Additionally, we learned that some of the other rookies who could use snaps to prepare for next season also didn’t start. Offensive lineman Larry Borom and cornerback Thomas Graham, Jr. would also sit for veterans Germain Ifedi and Artie Burns.

That did not go over well with Chicago Bears fans. They wanted to see the rookies take as many snaps as possible. Instead, Nagy went with veterans who likely won’t even be on the team next season.

That did not give off many good vibes before the game.

Once the game started, things didn’t pick up. After the two teams exchanged punts, the Seahawks went 80 yards for a score, culminating with a Russel Wilson-to-DK Metcalf touchdown pass for 41 yards.

The Bears tried to answer by going on a 15-play, 71-yard drive. However, they needed to go 73 yards. The offense could not convert on fourth and goal from Seattle’s four. Foles completed a pass to running back David Montgomery but he got stopped on the two-yard line.

The Bears’ struggles from the red zone again came up. Last week against Minnesota, they had five trips to the red zone and came away with one meaningless touchdown on the final play of the game.

Through three quarters, the Bears reached the red zone three times and scored one touchdown and one field goal. It appeared as if the missed opportunity in the first quarter would doom them. They trailed 24-14 and needed some good fortune to come back.

Thankfully, they received that good fortune.

After the offense broke down in the red zone again, Cairo Santos hit a 35-yard field goal to make it 24-17. Despite the struggles, Chicago was still in the game.

Then the Seahawks took the ball and marched down the field. They were running at will, gaining 22 yards here, 32 yards there. They found themselves on the Bears’ eight, ready to seal the game.

Linebacker Robert Quinn came through, though. On third and four from the Bears’ eight, Quinn got blew past the blocker and sacked Wilson for a 13-yard loss. The sack was Quinn’s 17th of the season. He is now just half a sack away from breaking Richard Dent‘s franchise record for most sacks in a season.

The Seahawks had to settle for a field goal, but Jason Myers missed the 39-yard attempt. Again, the Bears still had hope.

This is when Foles does what he has a penchant for doing — coming up big at big moments.

The Bears took the ball at their 20. Foles then proceeded to complete three straight passes for 69 yards and the Bears were threatening.

Of course, this being the Chicago Bears, they then made their fans suffer again. The Seahawks sacked Foles and he fumbled the ball. Ifedi was able to recover the ball and the drive continued. On the next play, Foles missed tight end Cole Kmet. The Bears faced a third and 14 from Seattle’s 15.

That is when Foles connected with tight end Jimmy Graham. Graham, who played for Seattle from 2015-2017, used his basketball skills to outjump two Seahawks defenders for the touchdown catch.

The Bears were within one with the extra point pending. Instead, Nagy decided to roll the dice and go for the win with a two-point conversion. Foles dropped back and looked at wide receiver Damiere Byrd despite having three defenders draping him. By looking at Byrd, the defenders dropped back and if Foles looked to his right, Darnell Mooney was all alone in the end zone.

Foles went with the crazy, acrobatic play instead. He threw it high so that only Byrd could catch it. He did, and he took a hit coming down. Somehow, he held onto the ball as he came down and the conversion was good. The Bears suddenly had the lead with about a minute left in the game.

That was the longest minute. Wilson is a magician and a minute with two timeouts seemed like plenty of time. The Seahawks decided to do their best Chicago Bears impersonation, however. They committed two penalties and with a missed pass, they faced a fourth and six. Wilson had to scramble and he took off, gaining just four yards. Game over, right?

Come on, these are the Bears. Cornerback Duke Shelley committed a holding, which would give Seattle an automatic first down.

But wait, these are the 2021 Seahawks. They also committed a holding penalty. Offsetting penalties meant that they had to run the play again.

Wilson threw to wide receiver Tyler Lockett but Bruce Irvin, another former Seahawk, forced the incomplete pass. This time, however, there were no penalties. The Chicago Bears actually won the game.

It was nice to see the Bears come away with a hard-fought victory, especially given how horrible this season has been. To see them play hard was fun to watch. It doesn’t change anything, however. Many of these same players who helped in the win probably won’t return in 2022. Still, a victory is always great to see.