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Seahawks vs. Bears: Chicago visits the champions without Kyle Monangai on Monday Night Football
A top-five offense meets the league's stingiest defense, and the odds disagree on how close it will be.
Bears lose Monangai for a trip to Seattle
Bears running back Kyle Monangai is out for the game against the Seahawks, which means Chicago walks into one of the league's toughest defenses without him. [1] The Bears will travel to Lumen Field to face the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. [1]
The Bears vs. Seahawks game is on Monday Night Football. [2] Seahawks fans get a return of their own, because a Seahawks injury report headline states that Charbonnet is set to make his season debut against the Bears. [3]
Johnson against Macdonald
The game pits Ben Johnson against Mike Macdonald, described as one of the game's best offensive and defensive coaches. [2] Macdonald is the first head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as his team's primary defensive play caller. [3]
Johnson has a history with Seattle. The Seahawks reportedly interviewed him twice in January 2024, before he chose to remain the Lions' offensive coordinator for one more season. [3]
He was named Bears head coach in January 2025 and led Chicago to an 11-6 record and an NFC North title last season, after a 5-12 campaign in 2024. [3] The Bears are off to a 5-2 start this season. [3]
Chicago's offense against Seattle's defense
The Bears have recorded 0.14 EPA per play with Caleb Williams on the field this season, ranking among the five most efficient offenses in the league entering Sunday's play. [2] Williams missed three games earlier this season with a hamstring injury. [3]
Seattle's defense sets a high bar. The Seahawks rank third in EPA per play on defense. [2] They have allowed a league-low 3.99 yards per play this season, and their pass defense has surrendered a league-low 5.2 yards per pass attempt. [3]
Last week, Seattle's Dark Side defense held Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to one of the worst performances of his career. [3]
Pressure and turnovers
The Seahawks rank second in pass rush win rate. [2] Byron Murphy II has 3.0 sacks and a 76th percentile pass rush win rate this season. [2]
Williams has taken sacks at an 8.0% rate this season, up from 3.8% last year. [2] Seattle also ranks second in the NFL in takeaways with eight. [2]
Williams has tossed just one interception over four contests this season. [2] He threw a costly interception in the NFC Divisional round against the Rams, and the Rams drove downfield for a game-winning field goal that sent them to Seattle for the NFC title game. [3]
Liz Loza argues that Williams is still learning and that his push for downfield throws, especially on primetime, raises the odds of an ill-timed interception. [2]
The line and the picks
Seattle is favored by three points in the betting line, while ESPN's Football Power Index favors the Seahawks by 1.8 points. [2] Seth Walder picks the Bears to cover, taking Chicago +3. [2]
Walder's reasoning is that offense is more stable than defense, so a good offense is more likely to have a strong next game than an equally good defense. [2]
Sam Darnold has struggled this season and entered Sunday ranked 23rd in QBR. [2]
What to watch if you follow the game or the odds
If you plan to watch, check Monangai's absence for the Bears and Charbonnet's season debut for Seattle. [1][3] The game is on Monday Night Football. [2]
If you follow the betting market, the line is Seattle by three, and the Football Power Index sees a smaller gap of 1.8 points. [2] DraftKings odds for Caleb Williams 1+ interceptions are +100, and odds are subject to change. [2]
Williams faces a defense that ranks second in pass rush win rate and second in takeaways, and he has been sacked at an 8.0% rate this season. [2]
Sources
Written from the sources above and checked twice before publishing. How we work · Report an error
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