Bears vs. Seahawks: Game Time and Analysis

Each year winter officially starts in late December, signifying the start of another three months filled with blizzards, below-freezing temperatures and relative hibernation. But all Chicagoans know that winter usually arrives three weeks early, bringing in the first snowfall and forcing us to dust off our North Face winter coats.

The same can be said about basketball season this year. The Bulls don’t start playing until December 25, but in reality, all Chicago sports fans began focusing on the NBA when the lockout ended on December 8 and the Bears had just lost to the Tyler Palko-led Kansas City Chiefs four days earlier. That was followed with the Bears becoming the most recent team to get “Tebowed” and Chicagoans are longing to see Derrick Rose’s spin moves and two-handed power dunks for the next six months.

Still there are three more games left in the NFL season, and for the Bears it’s looking more and more like there were only be three weeks remaining. Chicago faces a streaking Seattle team that has reeled off four wins in five games, including victories over Baltimore and Philadelphia. At 6-7, the Seahawks are unlikely to make the playoffs, especially since Atlanta and Dallas own head-to-head tiebreakers over Seattle, but the fact they are in the discussion is reason for optimism in the Northwest.

Marshawn Lynch has been on a tear in the last five games, averaging more than 100 yards and a touchdown per game on the ground. The Seahawks will rely heavily on Lynch as the sixth-year running back has been gotten at least 22 carries in his last six games.

The Seahawks’ improved play of late has also been a result of QB Tavaris Jackson, who has thrown four touchdowns compared to one interception in his last three games. The yardage totals may not be quite on the level of Aaron Rodgers – Jackson hasn’t thrown for more than 225 yards since Week 7 – he hasn’t had to have monster games with Lynch in the backfield.

How rare was it for the Bears to lose a lead in the fourth quarter? Under Lovie Smith, Chicago was 56-9 when holding a lead starting the fourth quarter  before the Denver debacle. Then Marion Barber and Tim Tebow happened. Barber ran out of bounds, stopping the clock late in the fourth quarter and fumbled in overtime, allowing Tebow the opportunity to work his late-game magic.

But the Bears have more issues to worry about than a rare late-game loss. The offense has scored one touchdown in the last two games, putting up a total of 13 points. While most assumed that Barber would immediately fill in for Matt Forte, his hold on the starting job now comes into question after his mental mistake and fumble cost the Bears against Denver. Kahlil Bell had 40 yards on nine carries against the Broncos so look for him to get more opportunities against Seattle.

So what do the Bears do for an encore after losing on a first-half "hail mary" and letting a 10-point fourth-quarter lead turn into an overtime loss? Maybe Lynch will go into “beast mode” (if you haven't seen Lynch's famous beast mode, click the link, it's amazing) and run for 200-plus yards or perhaps even Jackson has a career day. While performances of that stature would come as a surprise to Bears fans, another loss on Sunday certainly would not. 

Game time -

The game will be played in Chicago at Soldier Field at 12:00 p.m. Central Time and will be aired on WFLD Fox Sports. The Bears are currently 3.5 point favorites, according to Bodog.com

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