The Bears are back in primetime this week, on the road in Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Monday Night Football. It’s the biggest test yet for the Bears, but it comes at a perfect time: Caleb Williams is playing the best football of his career, the roster is as healthy as it’s been in weeks, and now they have Jeffery Simmons in the middle of the defensive line.
This is Chicago’s biggest litmus test yet, against a dangerous Seahawks team that hoisted a Lombardi Trophy last February and is looking to do it again. The Bears’ chances of doing so likely run through Seattle in January, and Monday is the stress test for Ben Johnson’s group.
Here are the potential difference-makers in Monday’s Week 8 contest between the Bears and Seahawks.
Three Bears: Week 8’s Picks to Click
Patrick Flowers: Jeffery Simmons — Typing that name into the Bears’ projected starters in this week’s Bears-Seahawks primer felt good. Seattle’s offense runs through Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has posted 100-plus receiving yards in six of the Seahawks’ first seven games this season, and 867 total on 58 catches, eight of which were touchdowns. Chicago’s secondary hasn’t faced a test like this. While Dennis Allen has done a terrific job of scheming an undermanned and underperforming unit into success for most of the season, he’ll need some help from the defensive line this week.
The only real way to stop JSN is to limit the number of times the football is thrown his way, and that’s done through getting pressure home on the quarterback, Sam Darnold, who, for as good as he’s been in recent seasons, is still prone to turnovers and isn’t very mobile. Enter Jeffery Simmons, the Bears’ newest weapon and one of the league’s most dangerous.
Among defensive tackles, Simmons is tied for first in sacks and leads the league in quarterback pressures this season. Over the last five seasons, no one has produced more forced fumbles among interior defensive linemen than Simmons. Since the start of the 2025 season, he leads defensive tackles in sacks, tackles for loss, pressures, pressures after a double team, quick pressures, sacks on third down, and turnovers caused by pressure. Simply put, he’s a game-wrecker, and he’ll be the guy who helps the Bears limit the damage JSN can do before the ball ever gets to JSN if Chicago is going to be successful this week.
Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) causes and recovers a fumble Sunday, Oct 18, 2026, by Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesLuis C. Medina: Austin Booker —The two-game suspension served by Montez Sweat was supposed to open the door for Booker to break out. Instead, the edge defender came up empty. Booker recorded 0 sacks, 0 tackles for loss, and 0 quarterback hits while playing 75.2 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus credited Booker with four hurries in that stretch, his first tallies in that category since Week 1. Still, it was a disappointing two games for a player who had a clear opportunity to make a splash.
That said, Sweat is returning to the lineup this week. And we’ve seen how well Booker has played when Sweat lines up opposite him on the line of scrimmage. With Sweat back and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (presumably) joining the lineup for Monday Night Football, I’m curious whether Booker can take advantage of this opportunity.
Oct 18, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Bears defensive tackle Kentavius Street (93) and defensive line Austin Booker (94) celebrate during the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesMatt Rooney: Caleb Williams — Wild that this is the one week I’m NOT going with line play, but with Luis and Patrick taking defensive linemen, I’m flipping to the other side of the ball. Seattle’s defense is awesome. They have dudes at every level and, arguably, the top defensive mind in the game calling the shots. They’ve wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks this season and are fresh off holding the previously undefeated Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense to just three points on Sunday night.
That said, I’m excited to see how Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson attack this challenge. No quarterback has really cracked the code on the Seahawks defense this season, but why not Caleb? He’s answered the bell for just about every big challenge he’s faced since Ben Johnson took over as head coach, and I think he can do it again on Monday Night Football. This is a huge stage for him, and I’m excited to see how he performs and leads this offense against the best defense (or one of them) in football.
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