Windy City Gridiron makes its picks for Bears-Seahawks

For as painful as the Bears’ defeat to the Packers in shocking fashion was last Sunday, they still have an entire road of a season ahead of them. To let one game sink the efforts of one aggressive off-season would be the mark of an immature, mentally weak team.

Under a firm Matt Nagy and company, this Bears team feels like anything but mentally weak. Although, until they prove it, most will see them in such a fashion.

The Bears are still waiting for their first win under Nagy, and standing in their way is Russell Wilson and the Seahawks in a primetime tilt.

Here are Windy City Gridiron’s staff picks for Bears-Seahawks.

Robert Zeglinski: Bears 27 Seahawks 16

For as good as Wilson is, I have a hard time believing he can overcome the Seahawks’ abundance of injuries on both sides of the ball. A player that isn’t injured in Germain Ifedi also has to block Khalil Mack, a matchup that is as skewed in the Bears’ favor as possible.

I also have a hard time believing this is a Bears team that lets one defeat get into their heads. This doesn’t feel like the mentally weak squads under Marc Trestman and John Fox. Consistent change and success is coming, even if it didn’t happen in the first week of a new era. Beating down an inferior and depleted Seattle roster is the first integral step.

Lester Wiltfong Jr.: Bears 27 Seahawks 17

Seattle’s offensive line is bad. It’s so bad that we’re going to see an Aaron Lynch get a sack this week, a couple from Khalil Mack, one from Leonard Floyd, one from Akiem Hicks, and another from Eddie Goldman. On offense we’re going to see Nagy take a page out of the Broncos playbook from a week ago, and run the ball about 30 times with Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Mitchell Trubisky will have a much cleaner game on his home turf under the lights. The Bears even their record at 1-1 and prove the good we saw last week wasn’t a fluke.

Aaron Leming: Bears 27 Seahawks 17

As I write this, my heart is still hurting over Sunday night’s loss to Green Bay. Even so, I had the Bears losing Week 1 to the Packers, even if I didn’t expect them to blow a 20-point lead. This week, I had them projected to win and I’m sticking by that for a few reasons.

First, Seattle is simply not good. I watched them against the Broncos and if it wasn’t for a three-interception performance from Case Keenum, the game likely isn’t as close as 27-24. Second, Seattle’s offensive line is terrible. The Bears had four sacks in the first half last Sunday and I expect that to rollover into Monday night. The Bears are at home after almost upsetting the Packers on the road. There’s no way I can see them starting off 0-2 for the fourth straight year with this much talent on the field.

Jacob Infante: Bears 20 Seahawks 13

As has been the case for the team in recent years, the Seahawks have a bad offensive line. With Doug Baldwin out for this matchup, the Seahawks will also lack a threatening weapon on offense. Chicago’s defense should have a field day against Seattle’s offense, regardless of how talented Wilson is. The Seahawks have their fair share of defensive playmakers, which makes me think that this game should be somewhat close.

Nonetheless, they aren’t nearly as good as their old Legion of Boom glory days. That should give Trubisky and the rest of the offense a chance to regain some confidence after blowing a 20-0 lead in Week 1.

Jack Silverstein: Bears 30 Seahawks 20

The Bears blew it against Green Bay. They know it, we know it, Papa Bear knows it. The good news is that they had a number of strong performers (most notably Aaron Leming’s game ball winners Mack and Howard) and lost in part due to a number of easily correctable mistakes (most notably play-calling and not catching interceptions). The team’s first home game will also see the franchise honoring new Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher. Not that a professional football team needs additional motivation, but having an all-time great in the building, along with his former teammates, will light a spark under this club. As will the Monday Night Football spotlight.

Andrew Link: Bears 27 Seahawks 13

The Legion of Boom? Not so much anymore. Wilson is a very good quarterback, but there isn’t a whole lot else on that offense. Baldwin is out for this one, which leaves Seattle thin with receiving options. Defensively, the Seahawks still have a decent defensive line and a few promising young players in their secondary. Football is won in the trenches, though, and the Bears have the advantage on both sides of the ball. Expect Mack and company to continue their onslaught against the hapless Seahawks offensive line.

Sam Householder: Bears 26 Seahawks 23

The Broncos were able to sack Wilson six times a week ago and that includes three by Von Miller. So what could Mack do? The Bears have been abysmal at home in recent years, but there is enough progress shown last week to suggest they will come out this week and try and exorcise those demons, as well as wash off the stink of a nationally televised collapse. The magic number here is 24: Seattle has scored more than 24 points just four times last season. If the Bears can get over that number, they can win. Trubisky has to take care of the football in the process.

Josh Sunderbruch: Bears 24 Seahawks 23

I predicted that the Packers would be the Bears’ only loss before the bye, and I’m going to stick with that even though I have no faith in this offense. Instead, I think that the defense will show up expecting to have to carry the game, and I think that they can manage that against Seattle. It would be nice if Chicago could actually close a game, but I expect that this will be closer than it needs to be.

Ken Mitchell: Bears 23 Seahawks 17

Wilson is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, but he’s going to be running for his life (as usual) all game.

Seattle, even at their best, was never a great road team, and I think Chicago is going to come out pissed off and hungry. Let’s hope they also come out prepared and ready to make better adjustments in the second half as well.

WhiskeyRanger: Bears 27 Seahawks 20

After a brutal loss (contributing to my massive hangover), the Bears adjust and rebound in their home opener against a team lacking healthy playmakers outside of Wilson and Earl Thomas. Both Mack and Roquan Smith have another week of practice to get into game shape, and pick up the playbook. They’ll both see their snap counts increase, significantly in the case of Smith, and will be integral to bottling up the quarterback behind that porous offensive line. The Bears offense, while still somewhat inconsistent, takes a step forward in game two of a new system against a defense that allowed Case Keenum to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Repetitions matter, and the first team didn’t see many during the preseason. It should gel as the season progresses.

Erik Duerrwaechter: Bears 35, Seahawks 14

When the Bears are rolling on all cylinders, they are pretty impressive. Lining a charged up Mack against the Seahawks’ sub-par offensive line is going to create havoc for Wilson. Plus, Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has years of experience in game planning for head coach Pete Carroll and his team from the Pacific Northwest.

If the Bears offense gets going and maintains consistent drives, this should be a blowout. And what a better way for Nagy to redeem himself than a win at Soldier Field during the same night Brian Urlacher is honored for being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

EJ Snyder: Bears 24, Seahawks 20

The Seahawks are one of the teams that went through as many changes (or more) than the Bears did this off-season. They’ve got potential to gel and be good, but they’ll have growing pains too. I think the Bears are closer to clicking on the offensive side, plus I trust Nagy a whole lot more than I do Brian Schottenheimer. The Mack-led Bears defense tightens up a bit and doesn’t allow the long easy plays they did against Green Bay while pressuring Wilson early and often to force mistakes.

Patti Curl: Bears 52 Seahawks 18

This time Nagy actually practices what he preaches about not taking his foot off the gas against a tragically flawed Seahawks secondary with plenty of tape available to prepare to attack their defensive system. All the people complaining that Trubisky hasn’t shown them anything will get shown something on Monday. They’ll either like what they see or cling desperately to their Biscuit hate as they fade into irrelevance.

On the other side, the defense will have Wilson scrambling, dancing, and ultimately chewing on grass until the cows come home.