Seahawks come back to Earth with crushing loss to Bears

Jan. 16, 2011
NFC Divisional Playoffs: Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears

The Seahawks improbable playoff run fell faster then a soaring bird shot out of the sky.
The Chicago Bears scored the first four touchdowns of the game while their defense forced Seattle to punt on their first eight possessions and put the Seahawks down early for a 35-24 win at Soldier Field in snowy Chicago on Sunday. So much for a dramatic run to the Super Bowl for the first losing team to reach the playoffs.
While Seattle was coming off a two-game winning streak and playing their best football of the year, Chicago was fresh off a first round bye and came prepared to bury Seattle in a hole they could not dig out of. The game was not as close as the final score would indicate.
The Seattle of old came back and looked outmatched on both sides of the ball for the first three quarters before Matt Hasselbeck threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter for a more respectable final score.
The Bears appeared to put the game out of reach after Jay Cutler's second touchdown pass extended the lead to 35-10 with less than five minutes remaining. The Seahawks did not give up and nearly completed an incredible comeback if only a couple of onside kick bounces would have gone their way.
The Bears early game plan focused on finding tight end Greg Olson over the middle of the field. Cutler threw a strike to Olson deep down the field and he beat Seattle safety Lawyer Milloy for a 58 yard touchdown for the first score.
Then disaster struck Seattle with two critical injuries. Seattle lost tight end John Carlson to a concussion after hitting his head on the cold hard field where he laid motionless until being carted off the field. In the third quarter, Seattle lost cornerback Marcus Trufant to a head injury and he needed to be carted off as well.
Both injuries proved costly to Seattle. Without Carlson, they were left with only one tight end which affected their run blocking scheme and Trufant is Seattle's best defensive back who was not on the field for the Bears clinching touchdown pass to Kellen Davis.
Seattle struggled to get any rhythm going offensively against one of the league's best defenses. The star of last week's game Marshawn Lynch managed only two rushing yards. The Bears, on the other hand, had three players who rushed for at least 40 yards and Cutler ran for two touchdowns.
A glimmer of hope for Seattle came with the game's only turnover. The Bears were lined up in the wildcat formation with running back Matt Forte taking the snap. Forte initially was going to run the ball, but did not find a lane so he dropped back and threw a wobbly pass over the middle of the field that was easily intercepted by linebacker Aaron Curry, who jumped the route. The turnover led to Seattle's first touchdown, a two-yard pass to Mike Williams.
Williams got lucky on his second touchdown catch when Hasselbeck's pass went through the hands of Bears cornerback Charles Tillman and right into his for the score with just 2:16 left in the game.
Brandon Stokley's touchdown with 1:24 left, rounded out the scoring after Seattle could not recover the onside sick and the Bears ran out the clock.
Now the NFL has a classic rivalry match-up for the NFC Championship in the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Surprisingly, these two NFC North division rivals the only other time they met in the playoffs was in 1941 with the Bears winning. Had Seattle won the game, they would have hosted the Packers at Qwest Field for a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. Playing at home in the championship game would have increased their chances of winning, but Seattle instead lost their eighth straight road playoff game.
The Seahawks quest for playoff glory was shot down on Sunday, but they did accomplish something no losing team had ever done before, win in the playoffs. While many NFL purists did not want to see them there, they defied the odds and played outside their expected potential. But as all too well Seattle sports fans are familiar with, they got beat and looked bad in the process.
Now as the season comes to an end it is time for the same old Northwest battle cry, "There is always next year."

*stats and information found on ESPN and Fox Sports