Chicago Bears @ Seattle Seahawks
Final Score: Bears 34, Seahawks 17
Writer: Steven Pintado (@coachstevenp)
Three Up
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D’Andre Swift — Swift struggled to find running room, but his 3 short-yardage touchdowns helped him deliver a strong fantasy performance despite his inefficiency on the ground.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba 1st Half — Jaxon Smith-Njigba had an elite first half with three huge gains, including his 43-yard touchdown grab.
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Caleb Williams — Williams was brilliant for the majority of the game. He led this offense well, making plays, changing plays at the line of scrimmage, and using his legs to extend plays and get downfield.
Three Down
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Cooper Kupp — Outside of his touchdown grab, Kupp felt like he wasn’t even on the field for much of this game.
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Seattle Run Game — Seattle got its running backs back this week with Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price, but neither was able to gain much traction on the ground against a decent Bears matchup.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba 2nd Half — Smith-Njigba finished with just two catches in the second half of an important game where the Seahawks were playing from behind, but clearly, the Bears made adjustments.
Chicago Bears
Quarterback
Caleb Williams: 24/34, 247 Yards, TD | 2 Carries, 1 Yard
Williams commanded a brilliant game against the top-ranked defense. Seattle hadn’t allowed a 200-yard passer, but Williams managed to break that streak with 247 passing yards. Williams was consistently hitting his receivers with great velocity on his throws. He also showed off his ability to extend plays with his legs, which often gave his receivers time to get open against man coverage. He did just that on his only passing touchdown, extending the play with his legs before finding Luther Burden III in the end zone. He did have a couple of throws that sailed too high, but overall, Williams put together another strong outing.
Running Back
D’Andre Swift: 27 Carries, 69 Yards, 2 TDs | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards
Running back D’Andre Swift had an uneven game. Swift struggled to move the ball on the ground, as the Seattle defense was a dominant force. His longest run of the game was just 7 yards, showing how difficult it was for him to find any running room. Swift handled the majority of the carries, which was encouraging for his fantasy value moving forward. He was able to score 3 touchdowns, all from short range. He got lucky a few times, with Roschon Johnson also getting opportunities and the Bears continuing to try to run the ball into the end zone. Without those touchdowns, Swift would have easily fallen into the Three Down category this week.
Roschon Johnson: 5 Carries, 17 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Johnson got some work early in this game but was mostly used as a change-of-pace player for Swift. It was frustrating to see Johnson getting red zone opportunities that Swift could have handled, but those opportunities didn’t amount to anything.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Luther Burden III: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 56 Yards, TD
Burden had the only receiving touchdown of the game. Burden was solid on short routes over the middle of the field and underneath, allowing him to get the ball in space. He also saw a few WR screens where he did a good job following his blockers. There was one throw where Williams overthrew Burden that could have resulted in a big play. Unfortunately, Burden’s day essentially ended around the 11-minute mark of the 3rd quarter. The majority of his targets came in the 1st half, with only 1 coming after that point. Burden looked solid, creating separation and finding yards after the catch.
Colston Loveland: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 65 Yards. Fumble (Lost)
Tight end Colston Loveland also got off to a fast start in this game. He was consistently seeing short and dump-off targets from Caleb Williams. Loveland did a good job picking up short gains and creating additional yards after the catch. However, the second half wasn’t as productive for Loveland, as he finished with just two catches after halftime. On one of those catches, Loveland had the ball knocked out of his hands, which wasn’t great to see from the young player. Despite that, Loveland continues to remain a big part of the Bears’ offense.
Rome Odunze: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 87 Yards
Odunze put together a solid game, with most of his production coming toward the end of the 1st half and early in the 2nd half. Odunze looked like a weapon over the middle of the field on the majority of his catches. He made a solid diving catch and almost broke a tackle that would have given him more yards. Odunze was clearly playing as the deep threat, with his targets consistently coming downfield. Unfortunately, Odunze’s fantasy value remains very boom-or-bust, making him an unreliable weekly fantasy option.
Kalif Raymond: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards | 1 Carry, 39 Yards
Raymond was pretty quiet for the majority of this game, but in the middle of the 4th quarter, he took a WR screen (which was ruled a run) for 39 yards, helping set up the Bears’ touchdown.
Zavion Thomas: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 17/34, 188 Yards, 2 TDs, INT | 2 carries, 20 Yards
Darnold struggled to do his part to help the Seahawks win on Monday Night Football. He managed to have a good fantasy performance thanks to two passing touchdowns. The first was a beautifully thrown ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Outside of those touchdowns, Darnold was consistently under pressure all night and probably should have taken more than just 3 sacks. He finished with just a 50% completion rate, making some dangerous throws throughout the game. When the majority of your passing yards go to just one player, you know there were struggles finding anyone else on the field. Darnold came through in some important moments, but his overall efficiency was rough.
Running Back
Zach Charbonnet: 6 Carries, 23 Yards | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 6 Yards
We saw Zach Charbonnet return to the field for the first time since 2025. He started the game and handled the first drive. He had a nice 13-yard run, finding an open hole and getting upfield. Outside of that, the rest of his touches didn’t amount to much. The Bears’ defense kept the backfield in check. He saw fewer touches in the 2nd half compared to rookie Jadarian Price, which could have been due to Seattle limiting Charbonnet’s workload in his first game back. He did see plenty of opportunities in the red zone, which could be something to monitor in future weeks.
Jadarian Price: 10 Carries, 29 Yards | 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
The rookie made his return to the field after being on IR since Week 5. Price saw more opportunities in the second half of the game, but like Charbonnet, he did not run the ball all that well. I’d expect both running backs to continue getting touches moving forward. It seemed like Price was getting more of his work between the 20s, while Charbonnet handled more of the red-zone opportunities. While Price’s role in the receiving game didn’t make much of an impact, he did have a chance for a big gain in the 2nd half had Darnold gotten him the ball with a better throw. Hopefully, with the rust knocked off, this backfield can get going because Seattle has a solid duo capable of running the football.
George Holani: 1 Carry, 9 Yards| 1 Target
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 11 Targets, 6 Receptions, 118 Yards, TD
Smith-Njigba was dominating in the first half of this game. He had big gains of 17 and 30 yards, along with a 43-yard touchdown. On his touchdown, Smith-Njigba showed off his elite route running, beating his defender to get wide open and giving Darnold an easy throw for the score. Fun fact: Smith-Njigba was called for his first career offensive pass interference penalty in this game, which wiped out a catch. In the 2nd half, the Bears’ defense adjusted and limited him to just two catches for 26 yards. With Seattle playing catch-up, it wasn’t great to see his production drop off, but a lot of that had to do with Darnold’s play.
AJ Barner: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 23 Yards
Tight end AJ Barner had a quiet game with just two catches. Both of his catches came in the second half. He did have a nice diving catch with a defender all over him. However, he was limited in his ability to gain big yards.
Tory Horton: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 34 Yards
Horton stepped up a little bit with Rashid Shaheed out for this game. Horton took a few big hits throughout the game. Most of his catches came on short out routes, giving him time to create separation from his defender.
Cooper Kupp: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 7 Yards, TD
Like the rest of the Seattle pass catchers, Kupp was quiet in this game. His lone catch was a touchdown, as he got behind the coverage to score.
Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)