(104.3 The Score) In the NFL's noisiest stadium, Ben Johnson's Bears made their loudest statement yet.
Not only did the Bears beat the Seahawks, 34-17, on Monday night at Lumen Field in Seattle, they dominated the defending Super Bowl champions in all three phases of the game.
On offense, Johnson took advantage of the 10 days he had to prepare for the league's top-rated defense and outsmarted Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald with a game plan that kept everyone guessing.
On defense, newly acquired game-wrecker Jeffery Simmons ended any debate over whether the Bears gave up too much in the trade with the Titans by affecting every snap and energizing his teammates.
On special teams, the Bears blocked a field-goal attempt and won the hidden-yardage battle.
This is what well-coached, disciplined teams do. This is how Super Bowl-caliber teams play on the road. This is why so many of us believed that the addition of Simmons would infuse the Bears with a force in the middle of their defense and a powerful belief in the locker room impossible to quantify but easy to understand.
The Bears set their clocks back this weekend to 1985. That arguably was the last time they had a roster this complete now that Simmons is on board. They have an elite coach-quarterback combination, ample offensive weapons, a solid offensive line and now a defense elevated by the addition of one of the NFL's fiercest linemen.
They just beat the defending AFC and NFC champions in successive weeks, showing resilience and resourcefulness that all championship teams need.
The way Simmons played in his Chicago debut, the Bears will wake up Tuesday morning with every reason to believe they can beat anybody on their schedule and any team in the league. Who's better?
Scoring 34 points against the Seahawks in Seattle is akin to hanging 50 on normal defenses. It started with a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that lasted 8 minutes, 32 seconds, and the Bears didn't relent until taking a knee to mercifully run out the clock. It included a 39-yard gain from Kalif Raymond that led to a D'Andre Swift touchdown run, a clutch response after the Seahawks turned Colston Loveland's fumble into a touchdown to cut their deficit to 20-17 in the fourth quarter.
It featured the emerging MVP candidate, Caleb Williams.
All the hubbub over Williams' cleats obscures just how firm a footing he has in Johnson's elaborate offense. For the third straight game, Williams wowed everyone with his uncommon talent and poise. If Williams can show such command in hostile territory under such chaotic circumstances, there’s nothing he can't do.
Williams completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown for a 101 passer rating against the same Seahawks defense that limited Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to three points on the same field eight days prior.
Yet it was Williams' style as much as substance that left the deepest impression. Before every snap, Williams identified defenders and barked signals like a leader in supreme command. On the sideline, he stayed engaged with every position group, whether it was showing emotion in exchanges with his receivers or discussing protection plans with his linemen.
Johnson suspected Williams would be locked in when he spotted him Saturday spending an extra hour on the practice field working with quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett.
"This was one of the more elaborate game plans in what we were asking him to do,” Johnson said of Williams. "He stayed calm, cool and collected throughout.”
Williams found Loveland and Luther Burden III seven times apiece. He connected four times for 87 yards with Rome Odunze, who made two clutch catches. Most importantly, Williams protected the football – an underrated strength.
Sam Darnold, in contrast, lacked sharpness and threw the game's only interception when Austin Booker batted a pass into the hands of defensive tackle James Lynch. Booker and Lynch swarmed around like the Bears entire defense, re-energized when Simmons walked through the doors of Halas Hall late last Thursday night.
Simmons had six tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss while playing 48 of the Bears defense's 56 snaps (86%) with a group he met five days earlier. His relationship with Montez Sweat dates back to their days at Mississippi State when they shared a room on road trips and terrorized Southeastern Conference quarterbacks. Simmons and Sweat both came into the league as first-round draft picks in 2019, and their reunion threatens to bring out the best in both – as it did Monday night when each had a sack.
Shortly after arriving from Nashville, Simmons challenged his college buddy.
"I told him, 'Get back to the old Sweat,'” Simmons said.
Sweat looked rejuvenated in returning from a two-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing substance policy. Simmons drawing double-teams freed up one-on-one matchups along the defensive line, something Sweat and Booker took advantage of all game.
But then you could find an example of every Bears defensive player benefiting from the mere presence of Simmons, who acknowledged managing his anxiety pregame despite making his 105th NFL start.
"When I ran out that tunnel, I kept telling myself it's just football, embrace the moment,'' Simmons said. "There was a lot of emotion ... I'm grateful to be here. It was a great start.”
Approaching midseason, this might only be the beginning for the Bears.
General manager Ryan Poles rightly believes the Super Bowl window is open. Poles propped it up even more by giving up two first-round draft picks for Simmons, whose first game in a Bears uniform was even more impressive than Khalil Mack's in 2018.
Speaking of Mack, reports persist that Poles has been talking to the Chargers about bringing the edge rusher back to Chicago. The juiciest rumor Monday involved the Ravens inquiring about backup quarterback Tyson Bagent after starter Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley left Sunday's game with injuries.
If the Ravens want Bagent, Poles should accept nothing less than a fourth-round pick that could turn into a third-rounder if Bagent leads Baltimore to the playoffs.
But every decision Poles makes before the trade deadline on Nov. 10 should be made to help his team get to the Super Bowl this season, prioritizing now over later.
The Bears put themselves in that conversation by beating the Super Bowl champions Monday night in Seattle. They ascended to the next level in the NFL. They earned those lofty expectations by excelling in every facet.
"Our guys came out with their hair on fire and that carried over for 60 minutes,” Johnson said. "We didn't come here to make a statement. We're still building.”
It looks like a construction project that will last deep into winter.
David Haugh hosts the Haugh & Payton Show from 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays on 104.3 The Score.
