5 Seahawks players to watch vs. Bears

The final Thursday Night Football game of the season is here, and given that it involves the Chicago Bears, it's fitting that it's taking place the day after Christmas when the holiday hype has peaked. The Bears (4-11) welcome in the Seattle Seahawks (8-7) to Soldier Field with one team clinging to postseason hopes, while the other is sleepwalking towards the offseason.

The Bears are in the midst of their second-longest losing streak in franchise history at nine and haven't been competitive in a game ever since Matt Eberflus was fired the day after Thanksgiving. In the three games since Thomas Brown took over as interim head coach, they have been outscored 102-42. After being eliminated from the postseason weeks ago, the team is simply trying to stay healthy with two games to go.

Seattle, meanwhile, can keep their playoff hopes alive with a win but will need help over the next two weekends. The Seahawks are in the middle of their own losing streak, having dropped two in a row, both of which came against NFC North opponents.

Here are five Seahawks players to watch during Thursday's prime-time game:

1. QB Geno Smith

It's been a long time since Geno Smith last faced off against the Chicago Bears—over a decade, in fact, back when he was with the New York Jets. The Bears defeated him to go 2-1 back in 2014, which was the last time they would ever be above .500 during the Marc Trestman era.

A lot has changed since then, at least for Smith. He is now in his third season as the Seahawks starting quarterback, though his level of play isn't what it once was. Smith entered Week 17 third in the league in passing yards with 3,937 while completing 70.1% of his passes but has tossed 15 interceptions, tied for second-highest in the league. It's also noteworthy that Smith is 0-7 in Thursday games. Even though he's facing a Bears defense that can't seem to stop anyone right now, it might not be the sharpest game from Smith the day after Christmas.

2. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The Seahawks have a new WR1, and his name is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The former Ohio State star was a top target for Bears fans going into the 2023 NFL Draft. Smith-Njigba, however, fell to the Seahawks and is living up to the hype during his sophomore season. Entering Week 17, he's fifth in receiving yards (1,089) and sixth in receptions (101). Smith Njigba is showing he can run all the routes and has overtaken DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett as the top option for Geno Smith.

Smith-Njigba has totaled 12 targets in his last two games and will be heavily relied upon on Thursday. Seattle loves to throw the ball, and without running back Kenneth Walker III, chances are Smith-Njigba will once again be the most productive player on offense. If only former Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was still with the Bears so Smith-Njigba could show him how he was better off without him.

3. TE Noah Fant

We know the Bears struggle to defend tight ends, but Noah Fant is arguably the worst tight end they have faced since Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper back in Week 10. No disrespect to the former first-round pick, but players like Sam LaPorta, TJ Hockenson, and George Kittle are all in a different category. This should be a good test for the Bears defense then to see if they can effectively stop a tight end for once.

Fant missed part of the season with injuries and had a slow return ever since coming back in Week 13. His first three games back, Fant totaled nine catches for 58 yards. Last week against the Vikings, Fant totaled 50 yards in his best game since October. We'll see how the Seahawks plan to get him involved against the Bears linebackers, but seeing how other teams have taken advantage of mismatches, he will probably get at least a few big gains.

4. DL Leonard Williams

Seattle's pass rush has been in the middle of the pack this season, but that doesn't mean they don't have impact players who can get after the quarterback. Two players lead the Seahawks with seven sacks, one of them being a longtime defensive lineman who is still getting it done in Year 10.

Leonard Williams is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance in his first full season with the Seahawks. Williams has seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss on the season, his most since 2020. He can be a game wrecker in the middle of the defensive line, and that could be trouble for a Bears team that is missing their starting left tackle and left guard. Williams will make things difficult for Chicago's offense and could be too much to handle for a line that has allowed the most sacks in the league.

5. CB Coby Bryant

The Seahawks have a solid young secondary that features Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, both of whom have shown the capability of making big plays. But another young defensive back has stolen the show in recent weeks despite making multiple position changes. Coby Bryant, the former Cincinnati Bearcat who was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, has taken over at safety and thrived this season.

In nine starts, Bryant has totaled three interceptions and five pass deflections. Two of his picks came against Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray when he was on the move. Murray plays a similar style of football as Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, meaning the rookie's streak of no interceptions could be in jeopardy. Bryant does a fantastic job of reading the quarterback and closing in on passes. He could be the reason Williams throws his first interception in over two months.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 5 Seahawks players to watch vs. Bears