NFL-Seahawks blank the Bears to register first win of season

Sept 27 (The Sports Xchange) - The Seattle Seahawks ended a two-week drought with their first win of the season Sunday when they shut out the Chicago Bears 26-0 and doused first-year defensive coordinator Kris Richard with a Gatorade bath. But the celebration pretty much stopped there. "I'm not going to say we're back," linebacker K.J. Wright said after Seattle held the Bears (0-3) to just 146 yards and seven first downs. "We've got to keep working. You can't say we've arrived or we're the best defense in the NFL just like that. We've still got a lot of work to do." Tight end Jimmy Graham made a splash in his home debut and safety Kam Chancellor returned to spearhead a solid defense that recorded its first shutout since Week 15 of the 2013 season. "He was very comfortable; they were comfortable with him in there," coach Pete Carroll said. "You could just see it. He made us whole." Seattle also overcame a hamstring injury to star running back Marshawn Lynch, whose absence was minimized by a breakout performance from rookie Thomas Rawls. The undrafted rookie from Central Michigan had 104 yards on 16 carries. Lynch was unavailable at the start of the game and carried just five times for 14 yards before coming out with a hamstring injury he suffered late in the first half. "It's nothing to be alarmed by," Carroll said after the win. "We'll just have to wait and see." Graham scored a 30-yard touchdown in the third quarter of his first home game as a Seahawk, giving Seattle a 20-0 lead after the offense struggled through most of the first half. Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka made four field goals, the first two of which came during a first half that saw the Seahawks struggle on the way to a 6-0 lead. Special teams helped spark Seattle, as Richard Sherman's 64-yard punt return set up the first Hauschka field goal before rookie Tyler Lockett broke a franchise-long 105-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half while giving the Seahawks (1-2) a 13-0 lead. Graham, who had seven receptions for 83 yards, opened up the game with the 30-yard touchdown reception with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter. Chicago quarterback Jimmy Clausen, starting in place of injured Jay Cutler, completed 9 of 17 passes for 63 yards as the Bears fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2003. "We just couldn't generate anything," Fox said. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson completed 20 of 30 passes for 235 yards and the touchdown. (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)