Seattle finished with 81 rushing yards and struggled on third down as the Seahawks fell 34-17 to the Chicago Bears on Monday night in Seattle.
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The Seattle Seahawks got two key backfield additions back in action and welcomed a major new piece to their offensive line, but their struggling running game still failed to generate momentum in a 34-17 home loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Tailback Zach Charbonnet made the start after returning from a torn ACL that sidelined him last January. First-round rookie Jadarian Price saw his first action since Week 3 after a rib injury put him on injured reserve, entering on Seattle’s second drive and taking his first carry on the team’s third drive.
Seattle’s rushing production came in at 81 yards overall. Price led the way with 29 yards on 10 carries, while Charbonnet added 23 yards on six carries. Quarterback Sam Darnold contributed 20 rushing yards, including 14 on one late scramble in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks still averaged 3.59 yards per carry.
The difficulties showed up on third down as well. Seattle went 1 for 11 on third down and averaged 10.3 yards to go, which ranked fourth-highest among teams this season.
Charbonnet said after the loss, “We have to watch the film,” adding, “But we’ve got to get a lot better. And quick.” Guard Grey Zabel echoed the same theme, saying, “We’ve got to improve very quickly in the run game. Got to get back to running the ball, take the pressure off our quarterback and wide receivers and our play-caller. Got to be able to move the line of scrimmage.”
On Seattle’s first rushing play of the night, Charbonnet took a handoff and ran 5 yards upfield, drawing a roar from the crowd at Lumen Field for his return. After that, the Seahawks did not record another rushing play by a tailback of at least 5 yards until the third quarter, when George Holani picked up 9 yards on a third-and-18 draw.
As the clock wound down in a game where Seattle trailed by 10, fans began booing the run game following back-to-back handoffs to Price that combined for only 3 yards with under seven minutes remaining.
The Seahawks made a number of lineup changes up front. Charles Cross was absent after suffering an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of last week’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs, while Seattle added Quenton Nelson after the team acquired the eight-time Pro Bowler in a trade with Indianapolis on Tuesday.
With Nelson taking his customary spot at left guard while learning the Seattle playbook and acclimating to the offense in less than a week, Zabel moved to right guard. Josh Jones came in at left tackle, and Zabel said, “I think there were flashes,” before concluding, “But at the end of the day, moving pieces or not, you’ve got to go out and perform and do the best you can. Today wasn’t good enough.”
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