DT Simmons stymies Darnold, Seahawks in his Bears debut - ESPN

SEATTLE — The four days leading into the Chicago Bears' dominant 34-17 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks were life-altering for Jeffery Simmons.

The All-Pro defensive tackle pivoted from game-planning with the Tennessee Titans to learning a new defense while preparing for the Seahawks after he found out he was being traded on Oct. 29.

In a matter of hours, Simmons left his family and home of the past eight seasons to join an NFC contender.

Simmons delivered immediately for the Bears (6-2, 0-2). In his first primetime game in three seasons, the defensive tackle had a sack, six tackles (three TFLs) and deflected a pass as Chicago registered its third straight win.

«Our guys were excited the moment they heard the news that we were bringing him on, and he's fit right in,» Bears coach Ben Johnson said. «We got a high character locker room, and he is that himself. And you can feel his presence out there, whether it's during the play or even after the play, you can feel him talking a little smack as well, which I think that elevates everybody around him. So I thought he played outstanding.

»To come in there and have a share of the lead of tackles and a sack in his first game, his impact was profound."

Simmons earned a game ball for his performance on «Monday Night Football» for elevating the Bears' defense. Chicago was already the NFL's top third-down defense through Week 7 and held Seattle to one conversion on 11 attempts. That 9.1% conversion rate is the fifth lowest by a team this season.

He caused widespread issues for Seattle's offense, namely for quarterback Sam Darnold.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Seahawks were held to 3.0 yards per play (3 sacks, INT) in the 48 plays where Simmons was on