5 Things To Watch In The Seahawks’ Preseason Game vs. The Bears

The Seahawks host the Bears in their second preseason game, another chance for players to get ready for the upcoming season, to state their case for roster spots or starting jobs, and, as Pete Carroll noted, to avoid some of the early-game jitters that seemed to contribute to a loss in Pittsburgh last week.

“Well, let’s hope we get off to a better start,” Carroll said, referring to Pittsburgh taking an early 14-0 lead by completing long touchdown passes against Seattle’s rookie cornerbacks.

Those two rookies, Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant, did a lot of good things after those early touchdowns, and, like the rest of their fellow rookies, are looking to continue what has been an impressive start to their NFL careers when they host the Bears.

The play of those rookies is just one of our five things to watch in Thursday night’s game at Lumen Field:

The Seahawks have gotten big contributions from their 2022 draft class so far in training camp, and that showed up in the preseason opener as well. Tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas were part of a very strong overall effort from the line, outside linebacker Boye Mafe had two sacks and a forced fumble, running back Kenneth Walker III looked explosive, receivers Dareke Young and Bo Melton both made some big plays, and as mentioned earlier, the two cornerbacks both started the game and settled down to play well as the game went on.

Walker won’t play this week due to an injury, though he shouldn’t be out long, and outside linebacker Tyreke Smith has been limited in camp due to hip injuries, but overall the rookie class is off to a great start and looks like it could be a foundation of the team’s future, and those players can back up the early hype with more strong performances against the Bears.

“Once we got settled in and those guys started to play, they played well and contributed well, obviously,” Carroll said. “It’s a very encouraging first sign for us. As we all saw, this draft really…