Challenge saves Bears

Bears coach Lovie Smith could not have picked a better time to win his first replay challenge of the season.

The Bears trailed the Seahawks, 13-0, in the second quarter but were marching down the field when Matt Forte fumbled for an apparent turnover on the 1-yard line. Smith threw his red flag to challenge the call, and officials determined that Forte was down by contact before the ball came loose.

On 4th-and-goal two plays later, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler withstood a chest-high hit from Seahawks safety Deon Grant and found his tight end, Greg Olsen, open in a corner of the end zone. That cut the Seahawks' lead to 13-7, and the Bears maintained momentum in the second half with two quick defensive turnovers.

"Whenever there's a close call like that, and it's a critical situation, and we're not 100 percent sure it's going against us, we're going to challenge it," Smith said. "It's as simple as that. It was a big play for us."

Smith is 1-for-3 on replay challenges this season. He went 4-for-10 last season and is 16-for-46 (34.8 percent) on replay challenges since the Bears hired him in 2004.

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The Bears' win at Qwest Field marked their first victory in the Emerald City since 1976, which was the Seahawks' inaugural season in the NFL. The Bears improved to 5-7 all-time against the Seahawks and 2-4 in Seattle.

Sunday's game marked the fourth meeting between the teams in the past four seasons. The Bears have won three of those four games, including a 27-24 overtime win in the 2006 NFC playoffs.

Almost all of the nearly 70,000 fans at Qwest Field wore Seahawks jerseys and shook the stadium with noise. But at least a few Bears fans were in attendance, and a few dozen of them caught up on sleep during a red-eye flight from Seattle to Chicago that landed about 4:30 a.m.

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The Bears received more good news Sunday afternoon when they learned that Seahawks' nine-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Walter Jones was declared inactive for the game.

Jones was one of seven Seahawks starters who missed today's game against the Bears. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was out with broken ribs, while Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu also was out because of a hamstring injury.