Seahawks sputter, shiver in loss

CHICAGO - A week after knocking off the defending Super Bowl champs, Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle Seahawks played more like a team with a losing record than a division winner.

Little went right for the Seahawks on a wintry day at Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears took control early and sent first-year coach Pete Carroll and the NFC West champs - the only team in the playoffs with a losing record - home by a 35-24 score.

Hasselbeck, who'd engineered the upset of the New Orleans Saints in the first round with four touchdown passes, was 26 of 46 for 258 yards, 165 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach. He threw all three of his TD passes in that last period.

"We started slow, we looked slow. Maybe it was the conditions, maybe just a combination of all those things," Hasselbeck said.

"I think we really believed we were going to win, as improbable and unlikely as it may have seemed to a lot of people. ... We just couldn't overcome some of the things that happened."

Marshawn Lynch's rambling, tackle-breaking 67-yard TD run last week in a 41-36 upset of the Saints was the talk of the NFL. This time, he was bottled up and was nearly invisible with two yards on four carries as Seattle had only 34 yards rushing.

The Seahawks couldn't muster the same relentless pressure they'd put on Jay Cutler when they sacked him six times in a 23-20 victory in Chicago three months ago. Their receivers had problems hanging onto Hasselbeck's passes. And they had two players carted off the field with head injuries - tight end John Carlson in the first quarter and defensive back Marcus Trufant in the third.

Carlson caught a pair of TDs in that win oven the Saints. Hasselbeck said Carlson was a big part of the Seahawks' game plan. The team's other tight end, Cameron Morrah, also was limited by turf toe, meaning Seattle had to go with more multiple-receiver sets.

"We just weren't able to make plays we needed to make. They challenged us, they came up and played real physical, real grabby, holding a lot, but doing it in a way they weren't getting called for flags," Hasselbeck said.

After finishing with a 7-9 record and winning their division, the Seahawks figured they were on a roll after upending the Saints.

"I don't know if people realize how close we were to doing something special," Hasselbeck said. "We had everything set. We didn't deserve it, but it was right there for us and we didn't take advantage."

"Now that we have beaten the Seahawks, it just doesn't get any better, as I see it, than for the NFC championship coming down to the Packers coming down on our turf this time," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "The Packers and Bears to finish it up."

Cutler made it possible as much as anybody. And he did it with nimble feet as well as precise throws, running for 6- and 9-yard TDs.

"It was fun," he said with a smile. "That first one was called. Second one was kind of improv."

There was nothing improvisational about the way the Bears' defense shut down an offense that scored 41 points against New Orleans last week, but that gained only 111 through three periods at Soldier Field, where Seattle managed a 23-20 victory in October. The Seahawks' points all came with the outcome decided.

"Now we're back, playing together, hopefully peaking at the right time," Urlacher said.

Cutler, in his first postseason game, showed none of the wild swings that often have marked his five-year career. His shifty moves on a 6-yard run made it 21-0, essentially turning everyone's attention to next weekend.

"We're both familiar with each other, so nothing's going to be new," Cutler said. "We have our hands full."

Not much was expected of the Bears when the season began, but they've improved mightily since falling to 4-3 heading into their bye week. They clinched a playoff berth with two games remaining, grabbing their first NFC North championship since 2006 - when they lost to Indianapolis in the Super Bowl.

Unlike Atlanta and Pittsburgh on Saturday, they showed no rust from having a bye in dominating Seattle. Then again, the Seahawks showed none of the surging emotions or big-play abilities they sprung on the Saints at home. It was merely a one-week reprieve, and they went even flatter after tight end John Carlson was carted off with a head injury in the first quarter following a nasty spill; Carlson landed on the side of his helmet and his shoulder, but had movement in his extremities.

Seattle lost cornerback Marcus Trufant to a head injury in the third quarter when he collided with Kellen Davis' knee while trying to make a tackle. Trufant also was carted off, but he also had feeling in his extremities.

Coach Pete Carroll said both players were hospitalized and were expected to stay overnight for observation. He said "all indications are that they are OK."

Chicago put away the game with touchdowns on three of its first four possessions, by which time Urlacher, Julius Peppers and the rest of the defense had taken charge.

Greg Olsen, showing impressive speed for a tight end, streaked past safety Lawyer Milloy for a 58-yard TD reception on Chicago's third offensive play. Chester Taylor added a 1-yard TD run and Cutler's 6-yarder built an insurmountable lead.

Cutler liked using his feet so much he added a 9-yard sprint in the third quarter to make it 28-0. He even threw in a 21-yard scramble in the fourth quarter and finished with a career-best 43 yards rushing, 9 more than the Seahawks.

"Jay's a very athletic quarterback," Seahawks linebacker Will Herring said. "So we have to account for that. He really hurt us with his feet."

Olindo Mare's 30-yard field goal got the first points for Seattle, which will get mixed reviews in Carroll's first season as coach. The Seahawks went 7-9, hardly what they had in mind when they hired Carroll away from Southern Cal. Still, they won the weak NFC West, and they eliminated the defending Super Bowl champions in the wild-card round.

"It took a long time for them to ... fight and compete and do the things we want them to do," Carroll said. "I would have loved to have got this game today that so many people didn't think we could. I see where we're going and I'm proud of that."