The Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks don’t exactly have what one might call a rivalry. However, the two teams do have some memorable games. The most recent might be the most painful for Bears fans. Many consider it the game that cost Chicago a playoff spot in 2012 and Lovie Smith his job. It was the game that Russell Wilson came of age. A 23-17 thriller that featured all sorts of late drama.
It seems rather fitting. History has shown that good things don’t follow when the Bears have lost to the Seahawks at home during the regular season. A 31-29 loss in 1978 effectively eliminated them from playoff contention. In 1999, they fell in a 14-13 heartbreaker that started a slide to 6-10. In 2011 a loss to them effectively ended their playoff hopes and Brian Urlacher was lost to the knee injury that ruined his career a couple weeks later.
Nothing good has ever come of it. By that same token though, history is giving in the other direction as well.
Chicago Bears good fortune is consistent after wins over Seahawks
The Bears have defeated the Seahawks twice at Soldier Field in the regular season. Both times it eventually led to success in the playoffs. First was 1990. Chicago held them to just 132 net offensive yards on the day while Neal Anderson scored twice to deliver a decisive 17-0 victory. The Bears would go on to win eight of their first nine games that year and beat the New Orleans Saints in the wild card round of the postseason.
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The bigger night came in 2006. The Bears were hosting the defending NFC champions in primetime. Most people expected a good game. What they got instead was a massacre. Chicago came out swinging. The defense swarmed quarterback Matt Hasselbeck all night while Rex Grossman and Thomas Jones accounted for two touchdowns apiece in a 37-9 thrashing.
It was a true statement game for a team that ended up going to the Super Bowl a few months later. For whatever reason, Seattle has seemed like a barometer for determining whether the Bears are good or not from year to year. Suddenly here they are again. It’s Monday Night Football. It’s a Seahawks team that is still not far removed from their playoff successes a few years prior.
The Bears again have a chance to make a statement in their home building. Something they haven’t had a chance to do in a long time.
