Let Russ coach.
Former NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, who’s in his first year as a member of The NFL Today on CBS, is exploring a possible Saturday gig.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, Wilson interviewed on Tuesday for the head-coaching vacancy at NC State.
Wilson spent four years at NC State, from 2007 through 2010, before transferring to Wisconsin after the Wolfpack opted to go with Mike Glennon for 2011.
The 10-time Pro Bowler has no coaching experience. The reported favorite for the job, former NFL and NC State quarterback Philip Rivers, has high-school coaching experience only.
If nothing else, the interview puts Wilson on the radar screen for other coaching jobs, at the college and pro level. His potential aspirations to coach were not, before now, widely known.
Seahawks Clips
When the schedule is released every May, plenty of standalone games that look good at the time morph into something not quite as appetizing as the season unfolds. Some standalone games get better with time.
This year, there’s a trio of massive games lurking on Christmas Day.
At 1:00 p.m. ET, it’s the Packers at the Bears. At 4:30 p.m. ET, it’s the Bills at the Broncos. At 8:15 p.m., it’s the Rams at the Seahawks.
With the Bears emerging as a threat to win the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the conference, the rematch with their biggest rivals (who beat them 31-7 in Week 5) becomes must-see TV. Bills at Broncos, a rematch of a postseason overtime classic that got Buffalo coach Sean McDermott fired, should have direct implications on two division races and the chase for the lone bye in the AFC.
The nightcap shapes up to be not a battle for the NFC West title and/or the top seed but a potential elimination game, given that both Seattle and L.A. are currently 4-4.
Regardless, all three games should be significant. Impactful. Consequential.
And they’ll more than make up for the Christmas Eve game, which has the 2-5 Texans at the 2-6 Eagles.
Fresh off last week’s trade from the Titans to the Bears, defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons had a clear impact on Monday night’s win over the Seahawks.
Simmons finished the game with six tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass defensed in the 34-17 victory.
Head coach Ben Johnson told reporters after the game that he gave Simmons a game ball or the performance.
“Our guys were excited the moment they heard the news we were bringing him on, and he’s fit right in,” Johnson said. “We have a high-character locker room, and he’s that himself. You can feel his presence out there, whether it’s during the play or even after the play. You can feel him talk a little smack as well which I think that elevates everybody around him.
“I thought he played outstanding. He got one of the game balls. To come in there and have a share of the lead of tackles and a sack in his first game, his impact was profound.”
The Bears allowed just 252 total yards on Monday night, which was 1 yard off from Seattle’s lowest output of the season. The Bears will be at home to play the Buccaneers on Sunday night in Week 9.
Monday night’s game in Seattle featured a pair of 2025 NFC playoff teams who would like to be back in the postseason this year and it ended with the Bears celebrating a 34-17 win over the defending Super Bowl champions.
The Seahawks had made it a three-point game early in the fourth quarter, but a 39-yard screen pass to Kalif Raymond converted a key Bears third down on the next drive and the roof caved in on the Seahawks from there. The Bears ended the night with 111 more offensive yards than the Seahawks and their defense thwarted Seattle on 10 of their 11 third down attempts over the course of the night, which led Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald to say after the game that “there’s no other way to sugarcoat” the way his team got beat.
Seahawks kicker Jason Myers missed an extra point and had a field goal blocked and the Seahawks committed several personal fouls to add to their woes on a night when the Bears were clearly better across the board.
“They made it happen, and we didn’t,” Macdonald said, via the team’s website. “It’s a team effort; we lost as a team. In all three phases, we can have better plans, we can coach it better, prepare our players better, and we can play better. We’ll go back to work and go attack the heck out of it. The margins in our league are too small, and when you don’t do the things that it takes to win, that’s how a game like that shapes up. It was a team effort. We lost in all three phases.”
The Seahawks overwhelmed the Chiefs in a Week 7 win, but Monday night was the kind of step back that explains why they’re 4-4 on the season. Having it happen against another NFC contender at home makes the blow more painful and Macdonald said the Seahawks “have some work to do” if they’re going to position themselves for another run at the end of this season.
It didn’t take long for Jeffery Simmons to get his first sack as a Bear.
Simmons took Sam Darnold down on the Seahawks’ fourth offensive play on Monday night, and he said afterward that as soon as he saw that they were blocking him one-on-one, he knew a big play was coming.
“If you block me one-on-one, I need to win the one-on-one. If I don’t win a one-on-one, the coaches should be on me. I hold myself to a high standard,” Simmons said. “It felt great to get my first sack as a Chicago Bear in my first game.”
Simmons always drew a lot of double teams during his All-Pro seasons with the Titans, and he drew plenty on Monday night in his first game since the Titans traded him to the Bears as well. He said he challenged his fellow Bears defensive linemen to take advantage of it when he was getting double teamed.
“If I’m getting a double team, I expect them to win their single block,” Simmons said. “We don’t need to blitz. I feel like if we can win at the line of scrimmage without the blitzes, that makes the guys’ jobs on the back end that much easier.”
Simmons played 55 defensive snaps, by far the most of any Bear in the game. He played 87 percent of the Bears’ defensive plays, which was exactly his snap count percentage for the Titans this season before he was traded. The Bears made a big investment in Simmons, trading two first-round draft picks for him, and they got a big return immediately.
In the moments before kickoff, Simmons said he was trying to keep his emotions in check by reminding himself, “It’s just football.” But it was hard not to be emotional.
“The emotions, especially during the national anthem, the emotions were coming and coming,” Simmons said.
Simmons said after the game that it means a lot to him to be playing meaningful football. The Titans are 1-7 and the Bears are 6-2 and Simmons knows the blockbuster trade was an opportunity for him to compete for a Super Bowl.
Welcome to Chicago, Jeffery Simmons.
Simmons had a dominate debut with the Bears, who acquired him from the Titans on Thursday. He made a team-leading six tackles, with a sack, a pass defensed and two tackles for loss, and the Bears limited the Seahawks to 252 yards.
The Bears rolled to a 34-17 victory over the Seahawks on Monday night.
Chicago is 6-2, and the defending champions fell to 4-4.
The Seahawks didn’t help their cause, with three unnecessary roughness penalties in the second half, including two on special teams. Kicker Jason Myers missed an extra point and had a 33-yard field goal blocked.
Sam Darnold threw an interception on a pass tipped by Austin Booker and picked by James Lynch, who returned it 16 yards to the Seattle 6. The Seahawks quarterback was sacked three times and hit six, including a sack and three quarterback hits by defensive lineman Montez Sweat.
Darnold never seemed comfortable against Simmons, Sweat and the Bears defense, as the Seahawks went 1-for-11 on third down.
Star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba kept Seattle in it in the first half and finished with six receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown. Darnold was 17-of-34 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The Seahawks had five three-and-outs and five punts against Dennis Allen’s defense.
The Bears gained 363 yards against the Seahawks vaunted defensive unit, with Caleb Williams going 24-of-34 for 247 yards and a touchdown.
D’Andre Swift had second-half touchdown runs of 1, 5 and 5 and finished with 27 carries for 69 yards.
The Bears have had an answer for the Seahawks all night. They did again midway through the fourth quarter.
After the Seahawks closed to within three points with 11:46 left, the Bears scored their own touchdown with 8:28 left. D’Andre Swift’s 5-yard touchdown run has the Bears back on top by two scores, 27-17.
The Seahawks shot themselves in the foot on the kickoff after Cooper Kupp’s touchdown catch. Mike Morris was called for unnecessary roughness after pushing Bears returner Zavion Thomas out of bounds.
Six plays later, the Bears were in the end zone.
The Seahawks had a chance to get off the field, with the Bears facing a third-and-9 at the Seattle 44. Kalif Raymond, though, had a 39-yard run around the right end before Nehemiah Pritchett saved — if only briefly — the touchdown. Swift walked in on the next play.
The Bears have outgained the Seahawks 344 to 193.
The Bears let the Seahawks back in the game when tight end Colston Loveland fumbled. Seahawks defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence forced the fumble and recovered it at the Chicago 25.
The turnover came three plays after Bears defensive lineman Austin Booker blocked the 33-yard field-goal attempt of Jason Myers.
The Seahawks took advantage of the takeaway, going 25 yards in three plays.
Cam Lewis’ interception of Sam Darnold in the end zone was negated by Clark Phillips’ defensive holding penalty.
Jadarian Price had runs of 9 and 4 yards sandwiched between Phillips’ penalty, and Cooper Kupp scored on a 7-yard reception. On the 2-point try, Tory Horton caught Darnold’s pass in the end zone.
The Seahawks trail only 20-17 with 11:46 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Bears have taken control in Chicago.
They put together a 10-play, 69-yard touchdown drive after both teams opened the second half by going three-and-out. D’Andre Swift’s 1-yard touchdown run, and Cairo Santos’ PAT have the Bears leading 20-9 with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Rome Odunze had catches of 23 and 22 yards to get the drive going.
Quarterback Caleb Williams is now 22-of-31 for 227 yards and a touchdown. Odunze has four catches for 87 yards, and Luther Burden has seven catches for 56 yards.
Swift has 16 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams was injured on a tackle of running back Roschon Johnson for no gain with 7:37 left in the third quarter. He is in the sideline medical tent, but the Seahawks have not updated his injury.
Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons made his Bears debut on Monday night, while left guard Quenton Nelson made his Seahawks debut. The teams traded for what they considered a missing piece last week.
Simmons has had an immediate impact with five tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.
The Bears held the Seahawks to six first downs and 114 yards, most of it coming on the final drive of the half, and allowed Seattle to convert only 1-of-6 third downs. Seahawks punter Michael Dickson was busy, with four punts.
The Bears lead 13-9 at halftime.
Chicago’s opening possession went 80 yards in 17 plays and lasted 8 minutes and 32 seconds, the Bears’ 11th drive of 5-plus minutes this season. Luther Burden scored on a 1-yard touchdown reception.
Cairo Santos kicked field goals of 44 and 38.
The Bears had 208 yards, with Caleb Williams going 17-of-25 for 165 yards and a touchdown. Luther Burden has six catches for 53 yards and a touchdown, but D’Andre Swift has only 26 yards on 11 carries.
Star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has kept the Seahawks in it, with 92 yards and a touchdown on four catches. The Seahawks trailed 13-3 when Smith-Njigba caught a 43-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left in the half.
Jason Myers, though, missed the extra point. He kicked a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
The Seahawks had only 29 yards on four drives in their first half to go with scoring drives of 45 and 71 yards.
Sam Darnold is 7-of-15 for 94 yards and a touchdown. Jadarian Price has four carries for 13 yards in his return, and Zach Charbonnet has three carries for 7 yards in his 2026 debut. Price and Charbonnet are the only other players with a reception besides Smith-Njigba, combining for three receptions for 2 yards.
