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Week 17 is a special slate because it features two games on Christmas, a Thursday Night Football, multiple games on Saturday, a full Sunday slate, and Monday Night Football. We’re going to focus on the Thursday Night Football game because it features the Seattle Seahawks against the Chicago Bears in the Windy City.
Here’s a brief review of how each team did in Week 16 and our pick for their upcoming matchup.
The Seahawks came up just short against the Vikings last week. It was a back-and-forth game from the opening kickoff to the final whistle as the two offenses traded score after score. The Vikings took a small lead into the 4th quarter, but a 4-yard touchdown pass from QB Geno Smith put the Seahawks up 24-20 with 4 minutes remaining. It didn’t take long for Minnesota to answer back as QB Sam Darnold and WR Justin Jefferson linked up for a 39-yard touchdown just 30 seconds after Seattle scored.
That touchdown sealed the game for the Vikings and a fantastic game from Jefferson. The star receiver totaled 10 catches for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was clear that the Seahawks’ secondary had no answer for the LSU product. However, they did limit WR Jordan Addison and TE T.J. Hockenson, which was a plus. And the defensive line held RB Aaron Jones to just 67 yards on 18 carries. Overall, it was a decent showing by the Seattle defense.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba has had a breakout year for the Seahawks. The Ohio State product has over 1,000 yards and has found the end zone 6 times. On Sunday, he hauled in 8 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. Geno Smith has been turning to him more often, and DK Metcalf has seen a decrease in targets because of that. However, Metcalf still found the end zone last week thanks to a 25-yard pass from Smith.
It was a Thanksgiving Day rematch in Chicago on Sunday, and for the second time this season, the Bears couldn’t stop Lions QB Jared Goff. The Lions QB finished 23/32 for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Jameson Williams, and TE Sam LaPorta. Detroit went up early and didn’t look back, as they won 34-17. It was a rough game for the Bears defense as they forced Detroit to punt only once and couldn’t stop the ground or pass attack.
Falling into an early deficit took away Chicago’s run game, and RB D’Andre Swift carried the ball just 9 times for 20 yards. QB Caleb Williams experienced a lot of pressure, and to give him credit, he threw for 334 yards and 2 touchdowns. WR Keenan Allen was the leading receiver with 9 catches for 141 yards with a touchdown. The rookie also spread the wealth to WRs Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore, but the Bears’ success through the air didn’t do much since the defense couldn’t stop Goff.
The Bears’ secondary is likely going to be a problem in this matchup. Seattle’s offense relies on Geno Smith, who usually attempts 30 or more passes per game, with most of those throws going to Smith-Njigba and Metcalf. Based on how Chicago’s defense performed last week against Goff throwing to St. Brown and Williams, I expect early success for the Seahawks.
When a team goes down early, they usually abandon the run game and rely too much on the passing attack. That’s exactly what the Bears did last week, and Caleb Williams ended up with 334 yards. That was the 4th time in the previous 6 games that Williams threw for at least 215 yards. Expect another heavy workload for Williams on Thursday night.
Keith is a sports writer who has evolved into a sports betting personality across social media in the past several years. He specializes in MLB but also writes about the NFL and NBA.