How Bears defense solved Jaxon Smith-Njigba problem in win over Seahawks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While wins and losses are the primary metric used by evaluators to determine whether a week was successful or not in the NFL, individual matchups most certainly matters.
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The final game of the Week 9 slate presented an enchanting one for NFL hardcores — Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba against anyone who the Bears lined up against him.
Smith-Njigba is football’s best receiver. His place at the top of that ladder hasn’t been under question since the start of last year. And yet, there’s a case — albeit a quiet one — that Chicago made him looking decidedly more ordinary than usual in its 34-17 win.
Here’s how the Bears bottled up Smith-Njigba to propel Ben Johnson’s side to a famous win over Seattle.
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How Bears defense found answer for Jaxon Smith-Njigba problem
Chicago’s defense proved unable to blight Smith-Njigba’s influence in the first half. He was the lone light in Seattle’s offense through two quarters, accounting for 92 of Sam Darnold’s first 94 passing yards.
Smith-Njigba found the end zone with one of his patented double moves, undressing Tyrique Stevenson as he did so. He had left Jaylon Johnson looking similarly foolish earlier in the affair.
On pace for nearly 200 yards at half, Smith-Njigba seemed the likeliest candidate to cause any sort of threat to Chicago’s secondary. But as the second half wore on, Smith-Njigba found it increasingly harder to affect the game.
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After making four catches for 92 yards in the first half, the Ohio State product was held without a catch (or target) until Seattle’s final offensive drive.
Smith-Njigba might have been slightly unlucky to receive that distinction. He appeared to bring the Seahawks on the cusp of the goal line at the end of the third quarter, only to be whistled for what appeared to be a dubious offensive pass interference call.
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Nevertheless, Seattle just wasn’t able to get Smith-Njigba involved in the action the way it intended heading into the contest. Some of that was Darnold’s doing; he struggled for much of the contest.
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Chicago’s secondary stepped up in a major way. So, too, did its defensive line; Jeffrey Simmons looked like the best player on the field for large portions of Monday’s action. The Mississippi State alum recorded one sack, two tackles for loss and six tackles in his Bears debut.
Darnold felt the pressure early and often on Monday night. Smith-Njigba had the minerals to leave his markers frustrated. But Darnold’s inability to find him on a steady basis in the second half limited the Seahawks’ offensive verve. The result was a fairly underwhelming Smith-Njigba performance, at least by his standards.
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