Jeffery Simmons makes smashing Bears debut in rout of Seahawks

• Courtney Cronin

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  Courtney Cronin

  ESPN Staff Writer

  Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever and GameNight on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.
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• Brady Henderson

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  Brady Henderson

  ESPN

  Brady Henderson is a reporter for NFL Nation and covers the Seattle Seahawks for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2017 after covering the team for Seattle Sports 710-AM.

Nov 2, 2026, 11:49 PM ET

SEATTLE -- From the moment Jeffery Simmons stepped onto the field Monday night, his impact provided the Chicago Bears an immediate return on their investment after trading two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder for the All-Pro defensive tackle last week.

The move signaled the Bears are all-in on contending for a Super Bowl, and it paid off quickly as the Bears took down the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 34-17. It was their third straight win and fifth in their past six games.

Simmons elevated everyone around him on defense, and his impact was felt throughout. Seattle averaged 3.0 yards per play with him on the field and 13.3 with him off. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold completed less than 50% of his passes with Simmons on the field and was a perfect 5-of-5 with a TD when he was off.

In consecutive games separated by 11 days, the Bears pulled off a franchise first, defeating the Super Bowl runner-up New England Patriots and then the defending champs in Seattle.

The Seahawks have lost three of their past four games.

Chicago Bears (6-2)

What to make of the quarterback performance: Right off the bat, Caleb Williams led the Bears on a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, which was Chicago's longest opening drive since 2007 against the Packers. Williams used play-action passes, going 10-for-15 for 109 yards and a touchdown, the most completions and yards allowed by the Seahawks on play-action passes in a game this season. Seattle's defense entered Week 8 with the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL (144 yards allowed per game). Williams surpassed that mark by the two-minute warning in the first half and finished the game by completing 70.6% of his passes for 247 yards.

Most surprising performance: Credit the Simmons effect for injecting life into the Bears' ability to generate pressure with their defensive line in ways they couldn't the past two seasons, when they had a 25% pressure rate with a standard pass rush (four or fewer pass rushers). Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen didn't have to blitz as much as in previous games, and much of that can be credited to Simmons' presence. In 48 plays with Simmons on the field, the Seahawks' offense generated 146 yards (3.0 yards per play) and one touchdown to go along with three sacks and an interception. In eight plays with the All-Pro defensive tackle off the field, Seattle's offense had 106 yards and a touchdown and averaged 13.3 yards per play.

Stat to know: D'Andre Swift rushed 24 times for just 57 yards for a 2.4-yard average, but he ran for three touchdowns to boost his league-leading total to 10 (Buffalo's Josh Allen has nine). Swift is the first Bears player with 10 rushing TDs in a season since Raymont Harris had 10 in 1997. He is the first Bears player with 10 in the Bears' first eight games since Rick Casares had 11 in 1956. -- Courtney Cronin

Trend to watch: In back-to-back games, head-scratching blitzes at the end of the first half resulted in Chicago's defense giving up explosive, consequential gains. In Week 7 against the Patriots, the Bears rushed six instead of protecting the goal line with a 13-point lead and three seconds remaining, which led to a 48-yard TD. Up by 10 with 37 seconds left in the second quarter at Seattle, Chicago blitzed out of its dime defense on third-and-long and left cornerback Tyrique Stevenson isolated against Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Without any safety help, Stevenson gave up a 43-yard touchdown as the Bears clung to a 13-9 lead at halftime.

Next game: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8:20 p.m. ET, Nov. 8)

Seattle Seahawks (4-3)

The Seahawks made a massive addition to their offensive line last week by acquiring All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson in a trade. They got running backs Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price back from injury. But then they laid an egg offensively in their worst loss since December of 2024.

Much of it was due to quarterback Sam Darnold being under constant duress, likely a product of a reshuffled offensive line that was also missing left tackle Charles Cross (ankle). The offensive struggles gave the Seahawks no chance on a night in which their vaunted defense looked as vulnerable as it has in a while, allowing season-highs in points (34) and yards (363).

What to make of the QB performance: Make it six straight games with an interception for Darnold and nine picks in all in that span. In his defense, his fourth-quarter interception was tipped right to a Bears defender. But he was far from sharp all night. Darnold was off target on 33% of his attempts in the first half, clearly affected by Chicago's pass rush. The Bears sacked him three times and registered three QB hits. Darnold finished 17 of 34 for 188 yards, two TDs and the interception. He had another would-be interception wiped out by a defensive holding penalty.

Stat to know: Before the Bears went 80 yards on 17 plays for a touchdown on their first possession, the Seahawks had not allowed an opening-drive TD since the 2025 opener. They didn't allow a score of any kind on the opening drive over the first seven games of this season. Seattle's defense -- which entered Week 8 allowing the second-fewest points in the NFL -- responded with a pair of three-and-outs against Chicago and forced a turnover in the fourth quarter that briefly gave Seattle life. But Mike Macdonald's unit -- which played without outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (ankle) and lost defensive tackle Leonard Williams in the second half -- ultimately allowed too many chunk plays in the passing game.

Most surprising performance: The Seahawks entered Week 8 ranked third in ESPN Analytics' special teams rankings after finishing first in 2025. Yet that unit committed five costly errors. Rodney Thomas II botched an attempt to down a punt inside the 5-yard line, resulting in a touchback before the Bears' 80-yard touchdown drive to begin the game. Jason Myers missed a PAT and had a 33-yard field goal try blocked. Mike Morris was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a kickoff, giving Chicago an extra 15 yards on what would be a touchdown drive. Irv Charles was flagged for a personal foul after a kickoff, backing Seattle up before Darnold's interception. Even a good play by Jay Harbaugh's unit went for naught when Charles blocked a punt, only for the ball to bounce so far forward that it was as though it was never touched. -- Brady Henderson