Wilson, Seahawks wilt under pressure

Painful.

Painful to watch.

Painful because of what it means for the Seahawks.

And damn sure painful for Russell Wilson, who may not survive to Thanksgiving at this rate.

Wilson was sacked six times for the second straight week, hit on seven more attempts, and didn’t complete a thing until the Bears began playing as soft as a memory foam mattress with the game in hand.

Don’t let that 24-17 score fool you.

The Seahawks were never a serious factor in this Monday night special, and got their last TD with 14 seconds to play.

Conventional reporting will note that the dagger was a pick that Prince Amukamara took 49 yards to the house — Wilson’s first interception for a TD in 2,778 passes — but that would be misleading.

The Bears were a lock from the first quarter onward.

IF YOU might be looking for a silver lining, hang on to the fact that the Seahawks have faced two of the NFL’s better defenses to open the season — both on the road.

Pete Carroll and the entire Seattle brain trust have to hope that a porous offensive line might stand up a little better against opponents less dangerous than the Broncos and Bears.

Unfortunately, there’s not much evidence to support that.

Wilson spent the evening running for his life again — reduced to quick, short passes with nothing more than a three-step drop.

In fact, that’s what led to Amukamara’s interception.

The Bears were conceding dinky passes to make Seattle use lots of clock in the fourth quarter, knowing that Wilson never would have time to scramble or look deep.

So when Russell tossed a short, no-look throw out the left, Amukamara stepped in front of running back Rashaad Penny and caught the ball on the dead run.

It was one of those things you could see coming.

With Wilson under the gun all night, the Bears had the luxury of playing a loose zone and then jumping a route just when the Seahawks felt safe with their short passing game.

YOU CAN also hang to the notion that the Hawks defense was relatively solid if not dominant, and Mychal Kendricks — the talented linebacker who will be going to prison for insider trading in January — was as good as advertised.

Shaquill Griffin picked off Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky on consecutive possessions in the first half, and the defense overall made it tough for the Bears to put the game firmly to bed.

But you have to be realistic about this loss.

The Seahawks have no running game — they scraped out 74 yards on 22 carries as a group — but gained some of that in garbage time, and still only averaged 3.4 yards per rush.

Wilson’s numbers were a fraud, too.

He finished 22 for 36 for 226 yards, a paltry 6.3 yards per throw, and most of that yardage came in the fourth quarter.

More telling, Wilson had just 68 yards passing in the first half, and already had been sacked five times.

Is it too early to write off the Seahawks entirely?

Maybe, but they certainly don’t look like they can walk out and whip the league’s elite teams.

That offensive line is going to be pushed all over the place.

Coach and broadcaster John Madden used to say, “Draw up all the great plays you want, but if my Xs knock your Os on their butts when the ball’s snapped ...

“You can’t win.”

Draw your conclusions on the Seahawks from that, I’m afraid.

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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.

A Brand New Day appears Wednesday through Saturday each week. Steve’s sports column runs on Tuesday. Email: scameron@cdapress.com. Twitter:@BrandNewDayCDA