Winners, losers as Seahawks dully beat Bears 6-3 on Thursday Night Football

At least this NFL game wasn't on Christmas -- because it was far from merry.

Just a day after the Houston Texans posted only two points in a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears closed out the Thursday Night Football schedule with a whimper.

Seattle moved to 9-7 with a lackluster 6-3 victory over Chicago, which dropped its 10th straight game to fall to 4-12 after a promising 4-2 start. All field goals were scored in the first half.

Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams had the chance to steal the game at home late and ruin Seattle's playoff chances, but failed.

Let's analyze the Week 17 game further with winners and losers:

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WINNER: Seattle's running game

While Geno Smith didn't have an impressive showing -- he completed 17 of 23 passes for 160 yards, no touchdowns, no picks and three sacks -- the running game did its part to win on the margins.

Zach Charbonnet led the way with 57 yards on 15 rushes, but backup Kenny McIntosh came up big with 46 yards on seven attempts, pioneered by a 25-yarder. Smith added 19 yards on three carries, making it 122 total on 25 attempts for Seattle on the night.

For comparison's sake, Chicago finished at 103 yards on 23 carries after D'Andre Swift ended the game on a positive note.

LOSER: Caleb Williams, Bears

The game is all about the moments. Despite the score being at 6-3 and no teams capitalizing throughout, the game fell on the shoulders of Williams for a chance to win at home right after Christmas.

Instead, Williams capped off his disappointing night with a pick. On a 4th-and-10, Williams felt immediate pressure on a blitz and lofted up a ball toward Keenan Allen. But Riq Woolen soared over Allen and brought down the pick.

Sure, maybe the draft pick for Chicago would be better long term. However, it'd also be encouraging to see Williams lead a game-winning drive as a rookie. He ended the game completing 16 of 28 passes for 122 yards, no touchdowns and the above pick. He took seven sacks.

WINNER: Kickers

Having a good kicker is extremely important. It matters even more so in games like this, where one missed kick could prove costly.

Both Seattle's Jason Myers and Chicago's Cairo Santos earned their paycheck, albeit in an awkward way. Myers made both his attempts, the longest being from 50 yards. Santos made his lone attempt, which was from 42.

However, not putting out Santos to attempt a 57-yarder to tie the game late did raise eyebrows. Maybe Chicago just wanted to go for the win to avoid overtime with the playoffs already out of the equation, but regardless, it wasn't the best look.

LOSER: Seattle's playoff outlook

A win is a win, but how those wins are earned could go a long way in predicting playoff chances. Seattle entered the game needing a win to put the pressure on the 9-6 Los Angeles Rams.

But this showing will likely not improve confidence levels much moving forward, with the team needing the Rams to lose to the already-eliminated Arizona Cardinals on Sunday to set up a blockbuster NFC West title match in Week 18.

But if the Rams win, Seattle needs four wins from the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos or Miami Dolphins for strength-of-schedule purposes heading into Week 18, where a Seattle road win over Los Angeles could be enormous in the NFC West picture.