Four days after the Chicago Bears acquired him from the Tennessee Titans, Jeffery Simmons walked into Lumen Field and posted a team-high six tackles with a sack, a QB hit, two tackles for loss and a pass deflection in his first game in Chicago.
The Seattle Seahawks had come into the night as the reigning Super Bowl champions and one of the stingiest defenses in the league, one of only three teams in the past 20 seasons to allow 301 or fewer yards in each of their first seven games, according to NFL.com. By the time D’Andre Swift pounded in his second of three second-half rushing touchdowns, that reputation was being rewritten.
Chicago is 6-2, its best start since 2012. Seattle dropped to 4-4.
Williams in command
Caleb Williams threw for 247 yards and a touchdown. His sharpest work came off play-action: ten completions in 15 attempts for 109 yards and the score, according to NFL.com.
Read also: Harry Kane admits he still cannot do one thing after three years at Bayern Munich
The second-year quarterback was not the box score’s loudest line, but he kept the offense in rhythm long enough for Swift to take over on the ground with three rushing touchdowns.
Afterwards Williams played to the fan base, telling SportsCenter on the Lumen Field turf, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times:
“I want to make these fans extremely proud to be a Bears fan. Each win just builds on that.”
He also pushed back against the sudden rush of belief around the team, telling the Sun-Times: “We were supposedly the No. 1 regression team, and now everybody’s going to jump on the train to the other side. It’s all about what’s in-house and us focusing on that.”
Read also: Family of Spanish footballer who died after match collision makes emotional plea
Simmons’ instant impact
The Titans trade had been announced on Thursday. Four days was all Simmons needed to change the geometry of Chicago’s front.
With him on the field, Seattle averaged just 3.8 yards per play and finished with its second-lowest point total of the season, according to Athlon Sports. Sam Darnold went 17-of-34 for 188 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. Jaxon Smith-Njigba carried the Seattle receiving game with six catches for 118 yards and a touchdown; 92 of the Seahawks’ 94 first-half passing yards went through him.
Johnson refuses the headline
Head coach Ben Johnson, in his second season since his move from the Detroit Lions, waved away the “statement win” framing in his postgame remarks to Athlon Sports.
“When the pressure’s high, we want to be at our best and all three phases did that,” Johnson said, per Athlon Sports.
Read also: Charles Leclerc becomes a dad
“We didn’t come here to make a statement. We’re still building and this is part of that process.”
Read also: F1 teams handed emergency evacuation plans amid fears over final two races
