Nick Foles Can Make a Statement

It was very early in training camp as trade rumors swirled and Nick Foles was throwing passes with the third-team players.

"I think y'all have watched; we've been dicing it up a little bit, we've been taking shots and I'm trying to help those guys be better," Foles told media.

Foles will get another chance to find out Sunday if he can actually make a group of NFL starters better against a first-string defense when he leads the Bears against the Seattle Seahawks in a game not entirely unlike the last game he played. 

In fact, the Bears have even less at stake than they did in that one because it was the final preseason game with Tennessee and third-team jobs were on the line for everyone except Foles. Sunday, nothing is on the line besides pride for the Bears.

When Foles takes the place of injured Justin Fields (ankle) and injured Andy Dalton (groin), it is a chance to prove to the rest of the NFL he can still play with an eye on next year's free agency. At a cap cost of $10.7 million but with $3 million in cap savings if he's cut, there is virtually no chance he would be on the Bears roster in 2022. 

Even though he's a third-stringer now, he has been starter and backup throughout his two seasons in Chicago.

"Nick always stays very involved in meetings, in practice and so now, with him knowing kind of where were at, you see him be able to come in with all the experience he has, he can come right on in and have a day like (Friday) in red-zone practice and some of the other team periods and look sharp," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "And so I’m sure, I know he's a competitor and I know that he understands this a great opportunity for him, too, on a personal level to be able to help our team out and help him out. 

"So I think that's where in this situation, it ends up being good for us and good for him."

Expecting Fields to win might be taking it a bit too far because it's in Seattle, a very difficult place to play in December or otherwise. And the Bears are facing Russell Wilson, of course. 

Seattle is guaranteed its first losing season under Wilson, so how the Seahawks handle this also-ran status is a factor, as well. 

Here's who wins Sunday's Bears game against Seattle and why.

Bears Passing

Foles faces the league's worst pass defense in terms of yardage allowed but they're very good at keeping teams out of the end zone in the air or on the ground, ranking 11th in fewest TDs allowed by pass, seventh by run. Their pass rush has picked up in the last four games as their passing yardage allowed has dropped an average of over 20 yards a game during that period. With the Bears using a third-string passer who hasn't played all year, and Allen Robinson still on the COVID-19 list, the Bears are ill equipped to take advantage of an obvious Seahawks weakness, but doing something unexpected has been Foles' calling card his entire career. No Edge.

Bears Running

Bobby Wagner and the Seattle defense rank 21st against the run but they've actually been effective overall, allowing 3.8 yards a carry. That's the second-lowest total in the league. The Bears have struggled in the last four games to get their running game going and when Foles was quarterback last year they suffered greatly on the ground, averaging less than 60 yards a game over the seven-game stretch when he started. Edge to Seahawks.

Seahawks Passing

Russell Wilson is coming off his second-to-worst passing game of the year against the Rams in a 20-10 loss, but before that he had three games with a passer rating of 108.8 and at other times this year had excellent efficiency. What he hasn't done much of is scramble for yardage, but he's been beat up, so that explains just 141 rushing yards on the year. The Bears defense covered the pass better last week with subs on the field than in any game this year but some of it had to do with Akiem Hicks turning up front to provide an interior rush complement to Robert Quinn's edge rush. Barring a late turnaround, they won't have Hicks because he's on the COVID-19 list. Edge to Seahawks.

Seahawks Rushing

Like with their run defense, Seattle's running attack is deceiving. They rank only 23rd running it and 28th in attempts, but when they run they've been very effective, ranking eighth in yards per attempt and 14th in rushing TDs. Rashaad Penny has had to battle injuries so his totals have been limited but he has averaged 4.7 yards per rush when playing. Alex Collins has been the main Seattle ball carrier when Penny didn't run and averages 3.8 yards an attempt. Run defense has been a Bears problem all year, especially without Hicks. They're 23rd against the run. No Edge.

Special Teams

Without Jakeem Grant the Bears are limited in the punt return damage they can inflect. Rookie Dazz Newsome could replace him and it would be a tough spot for a rookie to take on such important chores. They could use Damiere Byrd again, but he had trouble fielding the ball last week. Jason Myers has been very inconsistent for Seattle, missing five out of his 15 attempts from 30 yards and beyond. Edge to the Bears.

Coaching

Pete Carroll in the past had been one of the league's consistently good coaches but may have taken a step down the ranks this year as he reached his 70s. The countdown on Matt Nagy and staff reaches to games after this week and they still haven't figured out how to ignite the offense. Edge to Seahawks.

Prediction

The Line: Seahawks by 6 1/2 (over/under 41 1/2).

Gene Chamberlain's record to date: 13-1 (10-4 against the spread).

Gene Chamberlain's pick: Seahawks 24, Bears 13.

There is no reason to expect a team as depleted as the Bears have been by injury and COVID the last two weeks to rise up on the road and win one day after Christmas against a battle-hardened team from a stronger division that has had a disappointing season. Without Justin Fields playing, this game essentially is worthless for the Bears. Foles could keep them close until the fourth quarter based on his experience alone, but then Seattle's advantages take over.