SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks were able to put the league back on notice last Sunday by holding an undefeated Kansas City Chiefs squad to just three points in an impressive win. With a chance to improve to 5-3 on Monday against a tough Chicago Bears squad, which was riding the high of trading for superstar defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons earlier in the week, the Seahawks found themselves on the wrong end of a statement game.

The Bears defense, riding the constant pressure generated by Simmons, dominated Seattle’s offense while young star quarterback Caleb Williams and company found a few too many explosive plays for the Seahawks defense to cope with in a 34-17 win. The result dropped Seattle to 4-4, while the Bears announced themselves to the league at 6-2. It also marked Seattle’s first loss of more than four points in the past two seasons.

“Just a disappointing concerted effort,” Seattle safety Julian Love said of the game. “Everybody wishes they had a few (plays) back.”

Love gave credit to Bears head coach and offensive play-caller Ben Johnson for a 39-yard screen on third down that led to Chicago extending its lead to 10 late. But he pointed to a lack of execution from a Seattle defense that was top-rated in yardage allowed coming into Monday. Chicago went 4-for-4 on scoring touchdowns in the red zone, adding to what’s been a nightmarish season for a “Dark Side” defense that dominated near its own goal line a season ago.

Williams went 24-for-34 for 247 yards and a touchdown, often evading a short-handed Seattle defensive front to make plays. Meanwhile, running back D’Andre Swift housed three TDs on a 69-yard day as Seattle held the Bears to just 3.6 yards per carry. Chicago also featured their playmaking pass-catchers, as receiver Luther Burden III had seven catches for 56 yards and a score, while tight end Colston Loveland also brought in seven balls for 65 yards.

Former University of Washington star Rome Odunze also shined in his first game in Seattle as a pro, taking four catches for 87 yards.

That unit started with a bang, as a 17-play touchdown drive from Chicago opened the game after a Seattle three-and-out.

That became a theme, as the Seahawks offense flamed out in three plays four times on the night, with a four-and-out early in the game as well. Needless to say, the defense found itself trying to contain Williams and company on short rest, struggling to contain his scrambling.

For the offense itself, which was reintroducing running back Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet from injury, the short spurts of possession didn’t help the cause.

“It’s tough, cause you get so hyped to go out there, and then it’s such a quick three-and-out,” Price, coming off a rib injury, said. “It brings your confidence down.”

He and Charbonnet (knee) combined for just 52 yards on 16 carries behind a reworked offensive line that struggled against Simmons (sack, two tackles for loss) and defensive end Montez Sweat (sack, three QB hits). Reserve left tackle Josh Jones took an injured Charles Cross’ spot while new perennial Pro-Bowl left guard Quenton Nelson pushed usual starter Grey Zabel to right guard after a trade brought Nelson in from Indianapolis earlier this week.

Zabel struggled, especially in the early moments of the game, in keeping the dominant Simmons out of the backfield.

“Obviously it didn’t start off great, but as you kind of learn to play together in the new positions and stuff, it’s just gonna be a slow build of getting better and better every single play,” Zabel said. “At the end of the day, you just gotta be better.”

Still, the Seahawks managed to stick around as the defense managed a few three-and-outs to bring the offense along slowly.

Down 13-3, star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (118 yards, TD) beat corner Tyrique Stevenson Sr. on a double move for a 43-yard score at the end of the first half to make it a one-score game. By the end of the first half, Smith-Njigba accounted for 92 of Seattle’s 94 receiving yards.

“It’s inputs,” head coach Mike Macdonald said of the skewed pass-catching production. “If we’re playing the way that we’re supposed to and we’re running off the rock and we’re targeted right, and we’re dialed in on what we should be doing… the ball is distributed more evenly.”

The Bears got a few explosive downfield plays from Odunze to help push the game to 20-9, however, heading into the fourth quarter. Hanging on by a thread, Seattle seemed to have the door shut on it when a Jason Myers field goal to cut the deficit to eight was blocked.

That was when fourth-year defensive end Mike Morris, typically a special-teamer, got his first career sack to force the Bears into a third-and-long. A play later, veteran edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence forced and recovered a Loveland fumble, leading to Darnold finding Cooper Kupp for a touchdown to bring Seattle back into a 20-17 game.

Morris found himself in such a crucial down on account of usual edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu being out with an ankle injury and defensive tackle Leonard Williams coming out of the game with a stinger. Macdonald didn’t have an update on Williams postgame.

Despite the Bears wielding the momentum for much of the night, Morris and the defending champs had confidence.

“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win that game going into that fourth quarter,” Morris told The Herald. “And the reason why a loss like this sucks is because I have every confidence that we’re gonna win the game.”

A late hit on the ensuing Chicago kickoff return from Morris set up the Bears at midfield, however. As Chicago pushed into fringe field-goal range, Seattle managed a tackle-for-loss from Nick Emmanwori and Byron Murphy II to push Chicago out of scoring distance.

But just as Lumen Field started to roar, it was announced that the stop was negated by a pre-snap delay-of-game penalty. Moments later, Johnson capitalized on an aggressive Seattle front by calling a third-and-9 screen for Kalif Raymond, who dashed for 39 yards to set up a back-breaking score to make it 27-17 late.

With Seattle struggling to move the ball already, Darnold saw a pass get deflected at the line of scrimmage and picked off by Chicago’s James Lynch, setting up the final Swift TD to make it 34-17.

“There’s some unfortunate series of events that didn’t go our way, but, I mean, we got to play the game,” Macdonald said. “They did that, and we didn’t.”

Monday’s loss concluded a three-game run of primetime games, with Seattle losing 17-14 at Denver before downing Kansas City 20-3 last week. This latest loss against the Bears, and in the fashion in which it unraveled, is a setback for a team with aspirations of “running it forward” toward another championship. Seattle’s run game remains a question mark hinging on how fast its new-look line can mesh, while its top-rated defense was dealt a reality check after a dream showing last week.

Regardless, the NFL keeps on moving.

The Seahawks will get chances to get back in the win column with a home game against divisional foe Arizona on Sunday, before traveling to Las Vegas for a date with the Raiders.