After a big prime-time victory in Week 7, the Seahawks will be back under the lights at Lumen Field on Monday night to host the Chicago Bears in an NFC clash that very well could have playoff implications down the road.

The Bears come to Seattle with a 5-2 record and one of the league's best offenses, while the Seahawks, sitting at 4-3 after knocking off the previously unbeaten Chiefs on Sunday night, feature one of the league's best defenses.

"The best compliment we can give them is that they have a clear identity on how they want to operate in all three phases, and they do a great job of backing it up, so it's going to be a great challenge for us," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said on Thursday. "It starts with today, with how we prepare and how we practice. We're off to a good start. It's clear on what they're trying to get done in all three phases, and that's a compliment to them."

Here are five things to watch when the Seahawks host the Chiefs at Lumen Field on Monday night:

1. How does a new-look Seahawks offensive line featuring Quenton Nelson look in its debut?

The Seahawks made a big trade early in the week, adding All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, and while no one is doubting that a player of Nelson's caliber will be a great addition for Seattle's offense, the trade, along with an injury, means the Seahawks will be adjusting to multiple changes up front on Monday night.

Nelson, a left guard his entire career, will step into that role, which means Grey Zabel, Seattle's starting left guard since last season, made the move to right guard this week. And in addition to the changes at guard, the Seahawks will also have a different left tackle this week, with Josh Jones filling in for Charles Cross, who has been ruled out with an ankle injury suffered in last weekend's win over the Chiefs.

Those changes mean extra work this week for Seattle's linemen and coaches, and again, in the long run the Seahawks will be better for adding Nelson, but for this week at least, it is a unique challenge for all involved.

"The biggest challenges are going to be communication and just the difference in terminology," offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said. "As much preparation as Quenton's going to do here in the next few days, I'm sure he'll be ready. He's been playing football at a high level. There's a lot of correlation in terms of the techniques and the things that we're physically going to be asking them to do. When the bullets are flying, communication, you just want to make sure that you're as tight as you can possibly be. The more we can minimize what we're asking him to think about and execute early on, then it probably limits the amount of times that we might have a mistake pop up. We'll build on it as we go."

2. Can Quenton Nelson neutralize longtime AFC South foe and new Bears defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons?

Ever since Jeffery Simmons arrived in Tennessee as a 2019 first-round pick, the twice-per-year meetings between the Colts and Titans featured one of the best interior-line matchups in the league, with Nelson and Simmons frequently doing battles in the trenches. When Nelson was traded to Seattle earlier this week, it looked like those battles were coming to an end, but only two days later, Simmons was traded to the Bears, who happened to be Seattle's next opponent.

The Seahawks have some familiarity with Simmons' considerable talents, having faced Tennessee last season, and having held joint practices in Nashville in 2024 and this summer, so they know they will have their hands full with the All-Pro lineman.

"Jeffery's a great player," Macdonald said. "I feel like the two practices with him has been a great experience. You have to understand how that's going to affect what we do, and he's on the (Bears) now. We've got a lot of respect for him. They do a great job on defense. He's only going to make them better, obviously, and we expect him to play and be out there, so we have to have a plan for him."

Added Nelson: "He's an amazing football player and competitor. I was like, 'Man, can't get away from this guy.' It'll be another battle against him this week."

3. Can Mike Macdonald's league-leading defense contain Ben Johnson's prolific offense?

Following the 2024 season, two of the hottest names in the coaching cycle were that of Mike Macdonald, the league's top young defensive coordinator, and Ben Johnson, the top young offensive coordinator. Both coaches interviewed for multiple jobs, and while Macdonald obviously ending up in Seattle, Johnson decided to stay at Detroit for another year before becoming the head coach of the Bears last season. Both coaches have thrived at the helm, with Macdonald leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title last year, and with Johnson leading the Bears to an 11-win season and a trip to the playoffs in his first season on the job. Not surprisingly, the Seahawks come into the game with arguably the best defense in the league, while the Bears have one of the NFL's best offenses.

Seven games into the season, the Seahawks are No. 1 in total defense, No. 1 in pass defense, No. 6 in rush defense, fourth in scoring defense, and second in third down defense. The Bears, meanwhile, are third in total offense, first in rush offense, eight in scoring, and seventh in third-down conversion rate.

"They have an identity," Macdonald said. "He does a great job utilizing their personnel to the best of their ability… They play decisive. Talk about play style, it's clear, and it's a style that we respect. The stats back that up, too. The tape backs it up, as well."

Macdonald will always downplay a coaching matchup, such as when he faces off with offensive innovators like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, saying it's about the players making things happen on the field, but his players do appreciate seeing what their head coach can cook up against another young innovator.

"If you're a fan of the game, and us, being in the trenches, knowing the reasons and the ins and outs of things, yeah, it's exciting," safety Julian Love said. "You want to see how the game is evolving, and I think these two coaches have been evolving this game. I think everyone is trying to go off of what they're doing. There's only a few (coaches) the past five years who you can say that for. On our side of the ball, we have a challenge, because they're pretty special on offense."

4. Can Seattle's run defense come through facing another tough test?

Last week, the Seahawks faced a hyped matchup with Kenneth Walker III, then the league's leading rusher, and Seattle's defense was up to the task, holding Walker to just 36 yards on 14 carries, extending the team's streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher to 36 games. After that game, Seattle's opponents are averaging just 3.5 yards per rush attempt, the second-lowest mark in the league, and now the Seahawks face another tough challenge against the Bears, who lead the league with 154.3 rushing yards per game, with D'Andre Swift leading the way with 476 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Seahawks know that containing the Bears run game, and offense as a whole, will not be easy, but it's a challenge they're embracing.

"That's what you should want," said defensive tackle Byron Murphy II. "Whoever the best at what they say they do, you should want that week in, week out. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a battle. They do a lot of great things up front. They have a good offensive line, they're physical, they do a great job of running the ball. We have to go out there, be better than them and play great team defense and stop the run.

"They work together. One, they move guys. I've seen them move guys off the ball well and they play with great technique and stuff like that. They're a physical group up front. That's what helped them establish a run game. They have a great back, Swift. He can do it all; downhill, perimeter. We have to lock in on that, hold on to the little details going into the game. How can we take our options, what can we do to win, or to play in the backfield? We have to go out there and be us for real."

5. Does Jaxon Smith-Njigba make even more history this week?

Through seven games, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is leading the league in receiving with 867 yards, giving him 159 more yards than the No. 2 receiver on that list, Green Bay's Christian Watson, who has played an extra game with the Packers already playing on Thursday night this week. Smith-Njigba's eight touchdown receptions are also the most in the league, two more than Watson and CeeDee Lamb. And with 133 yards, he will reach 1,000 yards on Monday night, which would put him in some very rare company.

In the Super Bowl era, only Tyreek Hill in 2023 and Wes Chandler in the strike-shortened 1982 season have reached 1,000 receiving yards in eight games. Doing so would also make Smith-Njigba the third player in franchise history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons along with Steve Largent and Tyler Lockett. Another 100-yard game would also make Smith-Njigba the fifth player in league history, and first since Adam Thielen in 2018, to have 100 receiving yards in seven of the first eight games to start a season.

The Bears defense is getting reinforcements up front, with Montez Sweat returning from suspension and with Jeffery Simmons arriving in a trade this week, so their pass rush will be formidable, but there still could be opportunities for Smith-Njigba and the rest of Sam Darnold's targets. Through seven games, opponents are averaging a league-high 8.7 yards per pass attempt against the Bears, and Chicago has allowed nine completions of 40 or more yards, which is also the most in the league. The Bears are also allowing a 102.8 opponent passer rating, the sixth highest in the league. Again, the addition of Simmons and return of Sweat should help the Bears defense, but as Smith-Njigba has shown nearly every week for the past two seasons, there aren't many good ways to slow him down.