Would you believe this is only the fourteenth time in franchise history the Bears and Seahawks will match up? Guess Johnny Knox's injury last year had to occur in the 13th matchup. At least it wasn't on a Friday. And we're talking about a series that's gone on since 1976! Either way, here's some quick stats about the series history between the Bears and Seahawks...
Overall Series: Seahawks Lead 9-4 (!) in the regular season, but the Bears have the 2-0 advantage in the playoffs. Overall, Seattle has the advantage, 9-6.
Current Streak: The Seahawks won the last matchup, 38-14.
Under Lovie Smith: The Bears are 4-3 overall against the Seahawks since Lovie Smith became the head coach - again, 2-0 in the playoffs, 2-3 in the regular season.
Since Jay Cutler: The Bears are 2-1 when Cutler plays, and 0-1 when he doesn't.
Longest Winning Streak: The Seahawks won four straight matchups between 1978 and 1987, scoring thirty points in three of those four games including a 38-9 whooping on September 23, 1984.
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Did You Know?
- Over the last four matchups, the Seahawks have scored 70 second-half points to the Bears' 27.
- Over the last four matchups, the Seahawks collected 15 sacks against Jay Cutler and Caleb Hanie. Six of those came on October 17, 2010. A young(er) Chris Clemons had only half a sack that day. He has eight on the 2012 season.
- Against the Seahawks in three matchups, Jay Cutler has a 55.2 completion percentage, 5 touchdowns to three interceptions, and an 85.4 passer rating. In Brandon Marshall's one game against the Seahawks (in 2006), he only got one reception, but it was a 71-yarder for a touchdown.
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Remember When?
- During the Bears' 2006 Super Bowl run, the Bears had to go through the Seahawks. In overtime, Robbie Gould kicked the game-winning field goal after Ryan Plackemeier only kicked an 18-yard punt and Rashied Davis (!!) hauled in a 30-yard Grossman pass to bring the Bears into field goal range. Over his career, Gould is 9-11 against the Seahawks.
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Sack Watch:
Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemons have seven and eight sacks, respectively. The Bears took a sack against the Vikings when Cutler and Roberto Garza got their footing tangled up, and the Vikings didn't lay a hand on Cutler in the backfield for the remainder of the game even through all the injuries suffered. In his career against the Bears, Clemons has 3.5 sacks, and Irvin has never faced the Bears.