The Seattle Seahawks appeared to be a team on the rise as
they faced the Chicago Bears on November 5, 1978. Head Coach Jack Patera’s squad,
in its third NFL season, had a 4-5 record after a tough overtime loss to the
Broncos the previous week, but considering that they won a total of five games
in all of 1977, it marked definite improvement. Scrambling lefthanded QB Jim
Zorn led an exciting offense that also featured WR Steve Largent and FB Sherman
Smith (pictured at right). The revamped defense was playing well and two rookies, FS John Harris
and OLB Keith Butler, were making significant contributions.
The Bears, for their part, had lost six straight games
after a promising 3-0 start. Under first-year Head Coach Neill Armstrong, they
were dependent on the running of HB Walter Payton and FB Roland Harper. The
defensive backfield was strong, but there were questions regarding the
defensive line and linebackers.
There were 57,359 fans at Soldier Field on a pleasant but
windy afternoon. The Bears reached midfield on the game’s first possession but
had to punt. Taking over at their 30 following a 14-yard punt return by HB
Rufus Crawford, the Seahawks drove 70 yards in 15 plays. Seattle converted
three first downs, including a third-and-13 at the Chicago 22 when Jim Zorn
scrambled for an 18-yard gain. Sherman Smith ran effectively, carrying the ball
seven times for 33 yards and including a one-yard touchdown carry to finish the
series off. Efren Herrera added the extra point to give the visitors a 7-0
lead.
The teams traded punts as the game moved into the second
quarter. Seattle put together another long and promising drive, starting at
their 27. Zorn threw to Steve Largent for 20 yards and to WR Sam McCullum for
18 as the Seahawks moved methodically down the field. Smith and HB Al Hunter
carried most of the load, but after reaching the Chicago eight, Smith fumbled
and CB Virgil Livers recovered for the Bears.
The teams once again exchanged punts, and Zorn was sacked
on back-to-back plays in Seattle’s next series. A shanked punt by Herman Weaver
gave the Bears possession at the 50 and Avellini immediately threw to TE Greg
Latta for 17 yards and followed up with a 14-yard completion to WR James Scott.
The drive stalled at the Seattle 16 and the Bears got a break when Bob Thomas
missed a field goal attempt but was roughed while doing so. While there were
offsetting penalties, it still provided Thomas with a second chance from 33
yards and this time he was successful.
With 1:17 remaining to play in the half, the Seahawks
struck quickly in response, taking just four plays to go 73 yards. Zorn threw
to Smith for 17 yards and McCullum for 10, and then hit on back-to-back passes
to Largent (pictured below). The second was good for a 26-yard touchdown and, with Herrera’s
extra point, an extended lead of 14-3. In the last 30 seconds, the Bears had
one last shot before halftime and, thanks to an Avellini completion to WR
Golden Richards that picked up 17 yards, were able to get a 36-yard field goal
by Thomas before time ran out. Seattle took a 14-6 lead into the intermission.
The Seahawks went three-and-out to start the third
quarter and the Bears had good field position following the punt. Mike Phipps
was now at quarterback and completed two passes, most significantly to Roland
Harper for 16 yards. Thomas kicked a 39-yard field goal to narrow Seattle’s
margin to five points.
The Seahawks came back with a seven-play, 72-yard drive. In
a second-and-13 situation, Smith took off for a 21-yard gain into Chicago
territory and three plays later Zorn connected with Largent for a 31-yard TD.
Herrera added the PAT and it was a 20-9 game in favor of the visitors.
Phipps threw to Scott for a 26-yard gain to start the
next series, but three plays later CB Dave Brown intercepted a pass at his own
six yard line to end the threat. The Seahawks were unable to move on offense,
however, and another short Weaver punt gave the Bears the ball back at the
Seattle 38. They didn’t come up empty this time as Phipps connected with Harper
for a 20-yard touchdown. Thomas added the extra point and it was once again a
five-point game.
On the first play following the ensuing kickoff, Smith
broke away for a 67-yard gain to the Chicago six. It was from there two plays
later that Smith finished off the short series with a touchdown carry.
Herrera’s kick made the score 28-16.
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the teams
again traded punts before the Bears put together a 10-play, 64-yard scoring
drive. They kept the ball on the ground, with Walter Payton and Roland Harper
running effectively. Payton ran the last seven yards for a TD, but a bad snap
on the try for extra point forced holder Brian Baschnagel to try to run for the
point. He failed and the tally stood at 28-22 with 7:33 remaining to play.
Seattle came back to put more points on the board. Zorn
threw to Largent twice, for 19 and 10 yards, and Herrera kicked a 34-yard field
goal to increase the margin to nine points. Phipps went to the air on the next
series and was picked off by CB Cornell Webster. A short series by the Seahawks
ended with Zorn failing to complete a pass on a fourth-and-four play at the
Chicago 37. With Payton running for 19 yards on the next play, the Bears drove
63 yards in eight plays and Harper carried for a two-yard TD. Thomas made the
extra point this time to narrow the margin to two points, but there were just
35 seconds left on the clock.
Chicago had only one option, an onside kick, but they
were set back 15 yards due to a taunting penalty on OT Lionel Antoine, who
tapped Seattle LB Terry Beeson on the shoulder after the touchdown and then
made a show of spiking the ball in front of him. As a result, the kickoff was
from their 20, but the Bears successfully recovered the short kick. Following a
penalty, Phipps threw to Scott for 22 yards but, after reaching the Seattle 46,
a pass intended for Richards was intercepted by Webster to finally nail down
the 31-29 win for the Seahawks.
The Bears led in total yards (401 to 389) and first downs
(26 to 23). They also sacked Zorn five times, to two sacks of Chicago
quarterbacks by the Seahawks. However, Chicago also turned the ball over three
times, to one suffered by Seattle.
Sherman Smith had a big day, rushing for 152 yards on 23
carries that included two touchdowns. The yardage total set a new record for
the young franchise. Jim Zorn completed 13 of 24 passes for 208 yards and two
touchdowns with none intercepted; he also ran for 25 yards on three carries.
Steve Largent also had a big performance, catching 6 passes for 126 yards and
two TDs.
For the Bears, Walter Payton ran for 109 yards and a TD
on 18 carries and caught 5 passes for another 36 yards. Roland Harper had 13
carries for 57 yards and a score and contributed a team-high 6 pass receptions
for 71 yards and a touchdown. James Scott gained 88 yards on his 5 catches. Bob
Avellini was successful on just 6 of 15 throws for 68 yards while Mike Phipps
was 15 of 25 for 177 yards and a TD, but also tossed three interceptions.
The win over the Bears evened Seattle’s record at 5-5,
and the Seahawks went on to win four of their last six to finish at a highly
respectable 9-7, good for third place in the AFC West and barely missing the
postseason. Chicago’s losing streak reached eight the week following the
Seattle game, but the Bears then finished strong with four wins in their last
five games to end up fourth in the NFC Central at 7-9.
Jim Zorn led the AFC in passing yards with 3283 while
completing 56 percent of his passes and tossing 15 touchdowns – however, he
also threw 20 interceptions and led the NFL by being sacked 44 times. Still,
his mobility was a tremendous asset as he gained 290 yards and scored six TDs
running the ball and certainly was a key to the team’s success.
Sherman Smith missed four games due to injury but rushed
for 805 yards on 165 carries (4.9 avg.) and caught 28 passes for 366 more yards
(13.1 avg.) and a total of seven touchdowns. Steve Largent had 71 catches for
1168 yards and eight TDs and was selected to the Pro Bowl.
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