The gauntlet of the Chicago Bears' 2026 schedule rolls on, as they are facing a 2025 Super Bowl participant for the second week in a row, this time squaring off with the champs — the Seattle Seahawks.
It's no secret what the Seahawks win with — their defense is top five in almost any metric, with their total yards given up of 233 per game leading the NFL. The Bears will need to be methodical to score points on them.
Meanwhile, their offense is far more pedestrian, sitting somewhere around league average in most categories like total scoring, total yards, passing yards, etc. But that doesn't tell the full story of their offense.
After losing a major contributor in Kenneth Walker to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Seahawks were staring down a talent drain on offense. Nobody told Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
JSN, the shifty slot receiver for Seattle, is leading the league in reception yardage by more than 200 yards at 867 yards — with Ceedee Lamb in a distant 2nd with 651 yards. That gives JSN an incredible 124 yards per game, and a pace for over 2,100 yards on the season (a mark that has never been hit).
To this point, the Bears' defense has overperformed. But that's not to say that they have been great — especially when it comes to shutting down a passing attack. Currently ranked at 18th in the league, the Bears average 226 yards passing against their defense per game. Even worse, their top corner coming into the season — Jaylon Johnson — looks like a shell of himself. Once known for locking up half the field, he's now more likely to get beaten downfield while giving up chunk plays.
So for this week, I am not expecting Johnson, Malik Muhammad, Tyrique Stevenson, or Kyler Gordon to lock up JSN. I think he will get his. I think the key to victory is to limit the damage.
This brings me to Bears' rookie Dillon Thieneman. Throughout his rookie campaign, Thieneman has been excellent, particularly in cleaning up plays on the back end. It's felt like every game there are at least three occurrences where Dillon darts in for an open-field tackle to limit an 8-yard gain from turning into a house call.
In the first 7 games, JSN has catches of 82, 45, 38, and 33 yards. A stat indicative of his explosive potential. His ability in the slot means that he will frequently be looking to take a crossing route for more than the initial depth of the catch. If the Bears are going to win on Monday, that is going to require Thieneman to support his CB room and limit these big gains.
