Williams, Woolen lead way as Seahawks beat the Bears

Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs with the ball as Bears safety Jonathan Owens (36) and defensive end Jacob Martin (55) try to stop him during the second half Thursday in Chicago. ERIN HOOLEY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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CHICAGO >> Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ late pass and the Seattle Seahawks boosted their fading playoff hopes, squeezing past Chicago 6-3 on Thursday night to hand the Bears their 10th straight loss.

Jason Myers kicked field goals on the game’s first possession and near the end of the second quarter. Woolen picked off a deep pass intended for Keenan Allen at the Seattle 22 with 20 seconds left, ending Williams’ NFL rookie-record string of passes without an interception at 353.

Geno Smith threw for 160 yards, and the sluggish Seahawks (9-7) made just enough plays to come away with a win they sorely needed after dropping two in a row. They came in trailing the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams by a game with two remaining.

Leonard Williams had two of Seattle’s seven sacks.

Chicago (4-12) has two double-digit losing streaks in general manager Ryan Poles’ three seasons. The Bears dropped the final 10 games two years ago as part of a franchise-worst 14 game slide that stretched into 2023. They’ve never lost more than 10 straight in one season, and fans chanted “Sell the team!” near the end of this one.

Caleb Williams extended his NFL-leading total and individual franchise record for sacks to 67. The Bears broke their previous mark of 66 sacks allowed in 2004, when they used four quarterbacks.

Smith completed 17 of 23 passes, and the Seahawks improved to 6-1 on the road.

Noah Fant had 43 yards receiving, and Zach Charbonnet ran for 57.

Chicago is 0-4 since interim coach Thomas Brown replaced the fired Matt Eberflus.

Williams was 16 for 28 with 122 yards. It was a big drop from the previous week, when he threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns against NFC leader Detroit following a string of shaky performances.

Seahawks place Walker III on IR >> The Seahawks placed running back Kenneth Walker III on injured reserve prior to their game against the Chicago Bears because of an ankle injury.

Walker hurt his ankle in last week’s loss to Minnesota and left that game after sitting out the previous two because of a calf problem. He also missed two weeks in September with an oblique issue.

Walker has run for 573 yards and seven touchdowns on 153 carries.

Lions sign Bridgewater >> The Lions are bringing back Teddy Bridgewater to give the team a veteran backup quarterback for their playoff run.

Coach Dan Campbell said that the team signed Bridgewater as another backup with second-year player Hendon Hooker behind starter Jared Goff. The Lions have clinched a playoff spot and can earn the top seed in the NFC with two more wins.

Bridgewater was the backup in Detroit for the 2023 season when he got on the field for three snaps at the end of a blowout win over Carolina.