by Michael David SmithFiled under: Chicago Bears, Seahawks, NFC North, NFC West
The conventional wisdom around the NFL is that the Chicago Bears caught a big break during wild card weekend: The Seahawks upset the Saints and the Packers upset the Eagles, and the result is that Seattle, the first 7-9 playoff team in NFL history, heads to Chicago for the divisional round.But do the Bears really have such an easy game?
Maybe not. After all, the Seahawks played at Chicago in October and beat the Bears, 23-20. And their losing record aside, the Seahawks did look like a good football team on Saturday against the Saints.
Still, the Bears are 10-point favorites for a reason. Just about everything would have to go right for the Seahawks to win.
Five Things to Watch
1. Can Marshawn Lynch do it again? No, we're not asking whether Lynch can reel off another highlight for the ages, as he did with his incredible 67-yard touchdown run against the Saints. That would be an impossible expectation. But can Lynch, who led the Seahawks with 573 rushing yards during the regular season, again give the Seahawks a credible running threat against the Bears, as he did against the Saints? I have my doubts: Lynch deserves all the credit in the world for that brilliant run, but he's been too inconsistent -- and the Bears' defense has been too good -- for anyone to believe Lynch will have another 100-yard game in Chicago.
2. Will Julius Peppers be a factor? In the teams' first meeting, the Seahawks did a good job of neutralizing Peppers, the Bears' star defensive end. If they can do it again, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck may be ready for his second straight big game. But if Peppers can get regular pressure on Hasselbeck, that completely changes the Seahawks' offensive game plan.
3. Who can stop Mike Williams? This would have sounded insane before the season, when Williams was viewed as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. But Williams is the biggest threat in the Seahawks' receiving corps and the best hope Seattle has of making plays in the passing game against the Bears. Chicago's defense is strong, but the Bears lack a shutdown cornerback. Williams could have a big day.
4. How big a game can Jay Cutler have? The first time these teams played, Cutler completed just 17 of 39 passes -- his only game all year completing less than half of his throws -- and was sacked six times. Cutler has made big strides in figuring out Mike Martz's offense since then, but that game could have been a signal that the Bears' passing game doesn't match up particularly well with the Seahawks' defense.
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/14/seahawks-vs-bears-preview-and-prediction/
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