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Inconsistent Seahawks host Bears

Nov 18, 2007 - 11:26 AM Chicago (4-5) at Seattle (5-4) Sunday 4:15 pm EST

SEATTLE (Ticker) - If there is one thing that can be said about the Seattle Seahawks this season, it's that they've been consistently inconsistent.

With the status of running back Shaun Alexander uncertain, the Seahawks look to string together consecutive victories on Sunday, when they host the Chicago Bears in an NFC contest.

Alexander sat out last week with a sprained knee, missing his first game of the season. He was not missed as Seattle blanked the San Francisco 49ers, 24-0, on Monday night to complete a season sweep.

The Seahawks would like to think they've turned the corner, but they can't be sure as Monday's win came against a woeful team.

Seattle's longest winning streak this season is two games. It beat the the Cincinnati Bengals and 49ers to start the year 3-1. Since then, the Seahawks have dropped three of five games.

Despite its inconsistent play, Seattle has a one-game lead over the Arizona Cardinals (4-5) in the weak NFC West.

"The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - it's got to end," Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. "I'd love to say it's over now, but we've got to prove that."

The Seahawks might wish they could play all their games under the lights as they recorded their fifth shutout on Monday Night Football, extending a league record they already owned.

Matt Hasselbeck completed 27-of-40 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns, while Maurice Morris, filling in for Alexander, rushed for 87 yards and a score.

The Seahawks will be facing another team with offensive issues, as the Bears struggled to get past the Oakland Raiders, 17-6, last week.

For nearly 57 minutes, Chicago was limited to three points, but Rex Grossman, who took over when Brian Griese suffered a shoulder injury, tossed a 59-yard TD pass to Bernard Berrian with 3:11 remaining for the go-ahead score.

The Bears' starter for their first three games after leading the team to the Super Bowl last season, Grossman had mixed results in his first appearance since September 23.

He completed only five of his first 12 passes for 72 yards, but did engineer the winning drive and finished 7-of-14 for 142 yards.

The Bears have yet to name a starter for this week. Griese has started Chicago's last six games.

The reigning NFC champions are struggling to stay in playoff contention, training the New York Giants (6-3) and Detroit Lions (6-3) by two games in the wild-card race.

Chicago likely needs to finish at least 5-2 to have a shot at returning to the playoffs.