Bears to face Seahawks in Divisional round

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – With the Packers defeating the Eagles 21-16 Sunday in Philadelphia, the Bears will host the Seahawks in the NFC divisional playoffs next Sunday at Soldier Field.

The Seahawks advanced by beating the New Orleans Saints 41-36 Saturday in Seattle. The Seahawks (8-9) became the first team in NFL history to win a division championship with a losing record.

The Bears lost to the Seahawks 23-20 at Soldier Field on Oct. 17, struggling on both sides of the ball. The offense yielded six sacks and went 0-of-12 on third down, while the defense yielded touchdown drives of 80 and 92 yards, and failed to record a sack or a takeaway.
“They had us off balance all day,” middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said Sunday night on “The Final Word” on Fox. “They ran the ball well. They threw it well. They converted on third down. We didn’t get pressure. I think we’ve gotten better since then. I’m sure they have too. But we think we’ve gotten better since then. We’re a different team now.”

In Seattle’s Week 6 win at Soldier Field, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed 25 of 40 passes for 242 yards with one touchdown and an 87.7 passer rating.

“He’s a veteran,” Urlacher said Sunday night on Fox. “He knows our defense. He knows where to go with the ball when he sees certain coverages. Anyone who knows what they’re doing with the football worries me, and he knows where to go with the football all the time.

“We’re probably not going to trick him very much. Like I said, he knows what he’s doing. We’ve just got to play harder and get takeaways like we’ve been doing the last few weeks.”

In the Seahawks' playoff win over the Saints, Hasselbeck threw four TD passes before running back Marshawn Lynch clinched the victory with a spectacular 67-yard TD run with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter.

Asked Sunday night about how the Bears will try to defend Seattle's offense, Urlacher said: “Our No. 1 thing is stopping the run. It’s been that way this whole season and pretty much my whole career since I’ve been here.

“If they get their running game going it opens up their passing game. So we’ve got to try to shut down the run No. 1 and then make them throw the football; try to get them in second-and-long and third-and-long where they could be predictable. If we can stop the running game, it will give us a big advantage.”