The defending Super Bowl champions have had no choice other than to prove that they are ready for prime time. For the third consecutive week, the Seattle Seahawks will be under the lights and facing a playoff team from 2025. From a Thursday night visit to Denver (overtime loss) to a Sunday evening home game with the Chiefs (win) to this Monday night clash of defending division champions in the form of the Chicago Bears.

Yes, the ‘Hawks they’re already lost as many games as they did all of last season and are just 3-2 in their last five outings. But they sent somewhat of a physical message to Andy Reid’s team last Sunday night at Lumen Field, handing the Chiefs their first loss of 2026 via a 20-3 score.

Meanwhile, the Bears have had some extra time to prepare for their first appearance in the Pacific Northwest since 2021. They were last seen outlasting the New England Patriots, 30-24, on a Thursday night at Soldier Field thanks to a big evening by quarterback Caleb Williams.

Of course, both of these teams made big noise late last week when it came to acquiring star players. Seahawks’ general manager John Schneider orchestrated a deal to acquire eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts. A day later, Chicago’s Ryan Poles completed a trade with the Tennessee Titans to add four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons—and paid a hefty price to do so.

As far as the rest of the NFC West, the first-place San Francisco 49ers had Week 8 off, while the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals both came up with wins on Sunday.

Seahawks vs. Bears History

Even though the Bears own a pair of postseason wins in this setting, it’s the Seahawks that have a four-game overall lead (12-8) in a series that dates back to Seattle’s inaugural campaign in 1976.

As for much more recent times, this marks the second time in three years the clubs will battle. Back on a Thursday night (the day after Christmas), the ‘Hawks managed a 6-3 triumph over the Beats in Chicago in one of the uglier games in recent years. As for the Bears’ last appearance in Seattle, the club came up with a 25-24 triumph back in 2021.

Keep Your Eye on the Bouncing Ball

Both clubs own a minus-1 turnover differential this season. Chicago has forced 10 turnovers and totaled 11 giveaways. Seattle has 12 takeaways, but has already given up the football 13 times. It's worth noting that Seahawks’ quarterback Sam Darnold has thrown at least one interception in five straight games.

Only five teams in the league, including the Bears (87.6) are allowing fewer rushing yards per game (89.4 average) than Macdonald’s team. But Aden Durde’s defense faces a very stiff challenge in the league’s top-ranked ground attack. Led by De’Andre Swift, Chicago is averaging 154.3 rushing yards per contest.

Watch For Bears’ Rookie S Dillon Thieneman

He was the 25th overall pick in April’s draft and has come up big in his rookie season. Former University of Oregon defender Dillon Thieneman (who began his college career at Purdue) leads the Bears with 43 defensive tackles, to go along with 1.5 sacks, five passes defensed, one interception, and four special teams’ stops.

Mike Macdonald’s club has proven to be a second-half team this season. The Seahawks have been outscored a combined 72-63 in the first 30 minutes in their seven games. On the other hand, they have nearly doubled up the opposition in the second half and overtime, 105-53—allowing four offensive TDs.