With playoff hopes nearly dashed, Seahawks host Bears

Updated Dec. 23, 2021 6:11 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CHICAGO (4-10) at SEATTLE (5-9)

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EST, Fox.

OPENING LINE: Seahawks by 6 1/2 according to

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Bears 4-9-1; Seahawks 7-7.

SERIES RECORD: Seahawks lead 11-7.

LAST MEETING: Bears beat Seahawks 24-17, Sept. 17, 2018 in Chicago.

LAST WEEK: Bears lost to Vikings 17-9; Seahawks lost to Rams 20-10.

BEARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (8), PASS (32), SCORING (29).

BEARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (23), PASS (4), SCORING (24).

SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: OVERALL (30), RUSH (23), PASS (27), SCORING (24).

SEAHAWKS DEFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (21), PASS (31), SCORING (4).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Bears minus-13; Seahawks plus-3.

BEARS PLAYER TO WATCH: Considering the chatter last offseason about Russell Wilson possibly ending up in Chicago, this week’s matchup is a chance for Justin Fields to show his continued development — and a glimpse of what the Bears might have in the future. Fields has been good the last two games. He threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay and last week threw for 285 yards and a score against Minnesota. Turnovers remain his problem, though, as Fields threw two interceptions against Green Bay and lost a fumble against both the Packers and Vikings.

SEAHAWKS PLAYER TO WATCH: Since being acquired from Detroit midway through the 2019 season, Quandre Diggs has arguably been the most consistent defensive player for Seattle. Diggs has 13 interceptions in his 35 regular-season games with the Seahawks. He has five interceptions in each of the past two seasons and has already set a career high with 82 tackles with three games remaining. The fact Diggs is set to become a free agent after the season feels like a missed chance to lock up a key piece to what’s made Seattle’s defense successful.

KEY MATCHUP: Chicago's offense managed a meager nine points last week against Minnesota and the only touchdown came on the final play. Seattle’s scoring defense has been exceptional the past nine games, holding every opponent to 23 points or less since Week 5. But with the struggles of Seattle’s offense, if the Bears can find the same offensive spark they had two weeks ago against Green Bay, it may be enough.

KEY INJURIES: Most of the concerns about absences on both sides are COVID-19 related. Chicago’s S Tashaun Gipson, CB Jaylon Johnson, WR Allen Robinson and DE Bilal Nichols were still on the virus list, and the Bears added DE Akiem Hicks to the list. For Seattle, it could be without TE Will Dissly, CB D.J. Reed and DE Kerry Hyder Jr., but will have back WR Tyler Lockett after he was activated off the list. As far as injuries, the Bears could be without DB Xavier Crawford and WR Jakeem Grant Sr. due to concussions.

SERIES NOTES: The teams haven’t played since Week 2 of the 2018 season when Chicago won at home on a Monday night. The last meeting in Seattle came early in the 2015 season, a 26-0 Seattle victory. The Seahawks have won four of the past five regular-season meetings. Seattle’s 2012 victory in Chicago -- 23-17 in overtime -- is widely regarded as the game the Seahawks took the restraints off then-rookie QB Wilson.

STATS AND STUFF: Fields set a career high with a 96.6 passer rating and 26 completions last week vs. Minnesota. His previous high in completions was 22. ... TE Cole Kmet is one of five TEs in the NFC with five games of five or more catches this season. ... DE Robert Quinn is second in the NFL with 16 sacks. Quinn has 14 sacks in 12 career games against Seattle. Quinn had two sacks and a forced fumble last week vs. Minnesota. ... LB Roquan Smith has a career-high 140 tackles for the season, ranking fourth in the NFL. Seattle’s Bobby Wagner leads the league with 158 tackles. ... Wagner needs 10 tackles to set a career high and establish a franchise record. ... Lockett needs 35 yards receiving to set a career high. His current high is 1,057 yards set in 2019. ... The Seahawks are allowing 3.8 yards per rush, second in the NFL behind New Orleans (3.78).

FANTASY TIP: There may not be many good options in this game depending on the weather in the Seattle area, which is forecast to potentially get some snow on Sunday. It would probably be best to look at the running backs for options this week, like David Montgomery, Rashaad Penny and Alex Collins.

___

More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL