Which Major Seahawks Problem Keyed 34-17 Loss To Bears On MNF?

The Seattle Seahawks fell 34-17 to a dominant Chicago Bears team at Lumen Field on Monday night, with Mike Macdonald's team dropping to 4-4 on the year.

The Bears' defense smothered the Seattle offense all night, consistently pressuring Sam Darnold, and at one stage, held the offense to just one third-down conversion late into the fourth quarter.

The loss was jarring, but it also shone a light on a problem we've spoken about at length, and perhaps a reason why the Seahawks need to be active at the trade deadline.

Head coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Brian Fleury need to find someone to help Jason Smith-Njigba in the passing game.

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The Seahawks managed 114 total yards in the first half, with Smith-Njigba accounting for 92 of them thanks to a late 42-yard touchdown pass from Darnold.

But wait, there's more.

Darnold had just seven completions in the first half; Jaxon had five of them. The other two? They went to running back Zach Charbonnet.

That is no way to live in the NFL.

Attention turned to the second half to see whether the Seahawks and Fleury could get their other weapons going.

AJ Barner managed a 17-yard reception in the third quarter, and the first reception to a receiver not named Smith-Njigba came with 54 seconds left in the third quarter to Tory Horton for 13 yards.

It wasn't until Darnold threw a touchdown to Cooper Kupp in the fourth quarter that something of substance came from someone other than Smith-Njigba.

Then, on the two-point conversion, Darnold hit Horton in the back of the end zone to cut the deficit to 20-17.

With eight minutes left, only Smith-Njigba had more than one reception among Seattle's tight ends and receivers.

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What was odd is that after his first-half display, with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Smith-Njigba still had no second-half receptions and just one target.

So, the Bears did a good job of taking him away, and we saw what the result of that was for the Seahawks' offense. They stumbled.

With the Bears up 34-17 and a little over four minutes left, Darnold finally hit Smith-Njigba for an 11-yard gain, then, on the very next play, completed a 15-yard pass to No. 11 as the Seahawks' offense moved downfield.

But it was too little, too late, as the Bears had done the damage, with the Seahawks' inability to find a consistent outlet in the passing game that wasn't No. 11 again a big problem.

And one that the Seahawks, if they want to make it back to the postseason, have to figure out, and fast.