Seahawks beat Bears 6-3 at Soldier Field in ugliest game you'll ever see

All the way to the end, the Bears did nothing right Thursday against the Seahawks and fell 6-3 to push their staggering losing streak to 10 in a row. Quarterback Caleb Williams and interim coach Thomas Brown mismanaged the clock at the end, and the Bears' push at the end collapsed as Williams threw an interception on fourth-and-10 from the Seahawks' 40-yard line rather than try a 57-yard field goal to tie it.

It was the second time this season the Bears scored only three points and their third time scoring fewer than 10.

Williams finished 16 of 28 for 122 yards and a 53.0 passer rating, and running back D'Andre Swift was their most productive offensive player with 53 yards rushing and 28 receiving.

The Bears punted on their first three possessions before gaining some traction late in the first half on a drive that began at their own 9-yard line. After going backward to the 2, Williams converted a third-and-seven from the 12 with a 24-yard screen pass to Swift.

Trailing 3-0, the Bears got to the Seahawks' 17-yard line, and Williams threw what would've been an incredible touchdown pass to Rome Odunze, but the play was negated by left guard Jake Curhan's holding penalty. The Bears settled for a 42-yard field goal by Cairo Santos to tie it.

Williams completed 7 of 13 passes for 82 yards and a 72.3 passer rating in the first half. DJ Moore led the team with three catches for 37 yards and added eight yards rushing on two carries.

The Seahawks answered with a short drive and a 50-yard field goal by Jason Myers to pull ahead, and that lead held up for the rest of the game.

Getting Williams on the right track is a two-sided issue for the Bears. While they’ve certainly failed him by entrusting him to incompetent coaches that they had to fire in-season and protecting him with a faulty offensive line, Williams also wasn’t as NFL-ready as he or anyone else predicted.

“I probably didn’t meet the expectation of winning and playing my best,” Williams said in an interview that aired on Prime Video’s pre-game show Thursday before the Bears hosted the Seahawks, “but I’ve done a pretty good job.”

That might be the best way to describe his rookie season, albeit a bit generous depending on the day: “Pretty good.” Williams has managed to compile one of the best statistical seasons ever by a Bears quarterback, which is a low bar, amid a team in shambles. But it certainly wouldn’t be good enough, and Williams needs to attack the upcoming offseason with an eye on breaking out in 2025.

The shared blame between Williams and what the organization has surrounded him with was illustrated clearly in the first half.

Wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze each dropped a pass on third down, and Williams’ most impressive pass of the night was called back on a holding penalty by backup left guard Jake Curhan. Williams rolled left on third-and-10 at the Seahawks’ 17-yard line and fired to Odunze on the run with a quick snap of his wrist.

Curhan also committed an inexcusable false start on fourth-and-inches with two minutes left.

But Williams also completed just 7 of 13 passes for 82 yards in the first half, and the Bears punted on eight of their first nine possessions.

As former coach Matt Nagy once said, “It’s no one’s fault other than everybody’s.”

The Bears really should consider printing that on a t-shirt.

They’re guilty of plenty of self-sabotage, just as they were with predecessors Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky, but Williams has a solid to-do list. He said recently he’s been taking detailed notes that will inform what he works on in the offseason, and better footwork likely will top the list.

College quarterbacks can get away with just about anything mechanically if their offensive linemen and wide receivers are good enough, but everything moves faster in the NFL. Precise footwork is crucial to rhythm, timing and accuracy from the pocket.

The sooner the Bears pick a head coach to guide Williams through that process, the better. They shouldn’t need a prolonged search given that they’ve already had nearly a month to research and vet candidates.

Williams needs what he hasn’t had: An offensive-minded coach who can help him sharpen his decision-making in the pocket. Williams has had too many instances of holding on to the ball too long while scanning the field — he’s partly responsible for the 60 sacks he took in the first 15 games — and he has missed open receivers.

Both issues flared up on him Thursday against the Seahawks, who sacked him five times through three quarters. The Bears had three points and 119 yards of total offense at that point.

General manager Ryan Poles also owes Williams a viable offensive line, and he’ll need to replace every starter except right tackle Darnell Wright, who might have to move to the left side as part of the remodel. He also must consider whether running back D’Andre Swift and wide receiver Keenan Allen really fit the Bears’ plans. And the fading defense affects Williams, too.

Poles’ approach has been painfully conservative at times, but he’ll have to veer from that to flip this around. The Bears haven’t had a winning season since 2018 and already have wasted the first year of Williams’ rookie contract window.

In his three seasons in charge, the Bears have won the second-fewest games in the NFL and are about to finish last in the NFC North for the third time in a row.

Williams was supposed to change all that, but hasn’t. It turns out the rest of the Bears’ roster wasn’t as good as they thought and neither was Williams. He might eventually become a star, but has a ways to go.

“I’m definitely excited about the future because I’ve proven to myself that I can play,” he said on Prime Video. “The optimism I have is very bright, very encouraged, and I can’t wait.”

But proving to himself he can survive in the NFL wasn’t the real goal. Everyone expected that. Williams arrived as the No. 1 pick talking about delivering the best rookie season in league history. Now he’ll have to take aim at producing the best second season ever.