SEATTLE, WA - Just five days after a loss to the Rams guaranteed his Seahawks would have a losing season for the first time since 2011, an incredibly challenging campaign reached a new low point for coach Pete Carroll and his team on Sunday.

Despite having a 10-point lead at halftime and at the start of the fourth quarter, Seattle couldn't hang on in the final quarter, allowing a four-win Chicago Bears squad quarterbacked by journeyman Nick Foles to finish off a stunning 25-24 comeback win at Lumen Field. As has become a far too regular of an occurrence for his liking over the past several months, Carroll didn't mince words.

"That was about as disappointing a loss as we've had," a defeated Carroll bluntly told reporters. "We were in control in so many ways to win it and put it away, and we just never did and let them stay alive, and they found a way to make their plays, and we had to do some stuff to give them that opportunity, and they took advantage of it."

From the outset, the Seahawks set the tone playing in a rare snow game on their home turf. After the two teams traded quick three-and-out possessions, quarterback Russell Wilson lofted a perfectly-thrown deep ball through the flurries to DK Metcalf down the right sidelines in stride for a 41-yard touchdown, giving them an early 7-0 advantage.

Even after the Bears responded with a short touchdown drive early in the second quarter aided by a 28-yard punt return by rookie Daz Newsome, the Seahawks had an immediate answer of their own. Wilson connected with tight end Gerald Everett twice for third down conversions and running back Rashaad Penny, who broke loose for 135 yards rushing, scored from three yards out to put his team back in front by seven.

For three quarters, as Carroll lamented post-game, a win never seemed in doubt for Seattle. Any time Chicago tried to claw back into the game, including a 20-yard touchdown run by rookie Khalil Herbert early in the third quarter, the home team always had an answer. Less than two minutes after that long touchdown, Wilson rolled out on a bootleg and hit Everett for a 24-yard score to push the lead back to 10.

But once the game transitioned into the fourth quarter, everything changed. Much to Carroll's dissatisfaction, his team didn't do what they needed to do to put away their pesky opponent, making critical mistakes in all three phases that allowed the Bears to steal the win and put the Seahawks playoff hopes on ice for good.

First, Seattle allowed Foles and Chicago to make it a one-score game by surrendering three pass plays of 15 yards or more on a 13-play, 63-yard drive. While a fourth down stop forced the visitors to settle for a Cairo Santos field goal, those three points wound up looming large later in the quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Seahawks looked poised to do what they had done all game long and respond with a haymaker. A 32-yard scamper by Penny quickly advanced them to the Bears 14-yard line with a chance to put a nail in the coffin. A field goal by Myers would extend the lead back to 10 with time dwindling away.

However, two plays after Penny dashed through the snow slipping through helpless Bears' defenders, Wilson made what Carroll deemed a momentum-killing mistake on 3rd and 4. Rather than throw the football away with pressure bearing down on him in the pocket, the quarterback tried to spin his way out of trouble hoping to find a receiver downfield on an improvised play, ultimately taking a 13-yard sack to defensive end Robert Quinn that knocked the ball back to the 21.

"In that situation, that third down in field goal range to go up by 10, we've got to get rid of the football," Carroll said. "We can't take a sack there, and we need to look at what happened on that play... You sail out it out of the end zone right there, kick the field goal."

While Carroll expects Myers to split the uprights on 39-yard field goals, in less-than-ideal conditions, the lost yardage proved costly as the veteran kicker missed wide left, keeping the game a seven-point contest with under 7:30 left to play.

Though the Bears were stopped on fourth down just four plays later, the Seahawks couldn't fully recapture momentum, seeing their own drive sputter after advancing the ball to the Bears 28-yard line. A holding penalty on Colby Parkinson followed by a three-yard loss on a shovel pass from Wilson to Dee Eskridge eventually led to a 4th and 21 situation and a Michael Dickson punt.

Moments later, in improbable fashion, Foles capped off a far too easy six-play, 65-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham. On the very next play, rather than tying the game with an extra point, Bears coach Matt Nagy rolled the dice going for two and Foles hooked up with Damiere Byrd, who spectacularly managed to get a knee down inbounds despite the Seahawks efforts to push him out of the back of the end zone.

Flabbergasted by everything that had transpired in those closing moments, all Carroll could do was offer to take the sword for his team.

"I feel like I have to do more," Carroll remarked. "I feel at a time like this, I feel like I've got to find ways to help our guys more so we don't get in a situation where we can give them a chance. That's what I'm doing. I'm going to try to figure out how I can help and get us cleaner right down the stretch and win a football game and not give something up and the penalties that we did and all that kind of stuff. We have things we can do better. We have to do better."

The problem? This is far from the first time Carroll has blamed himself for his team's struggles finishing games. And while the Seahawks have suffered several demoralizing losses in their worst season in more than a decade, this one hit differently. This one truly feels like an era ender that puts the legend's job security at risk.

The Bears arrived in Seattle without their starting quarterback in Justin Fields as well as his backup Andy Dalton. They were without their top receiver in Allen Robinson. They were down to a third-string left tackle and they were without defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and cornerback Jaylon Johnson as well.

Given the circumstances, once the Seahawks started to pull away in the second quarter, they should have been able to put away a short-handed opponent with little left to play for. And yet, whatever messages Carroll has tried to send to his players as well as his assistants aiming for better results, they clearly haven't resonated with them. Nothing has changed.

Week in and week out, Seattle hasn't been able to convert third downs on offense and Carroll's staff hasn't been able to find a solution to the problem. The defense has had its share of issues getting off the field on third downs and no consistent solutions have been found. Questionable clock and game management gaffes such as choosing not to use a timeout after a third down stop with under two minutes to play in the first half on Sunday keep popping up game-by-game.

Seeing these same problems surface time and time again, the Seahawks must ask themselves: Is Carroll still the one to lead this team moving forward? At 70 years of age, is he the right man to help fix a sinking ship and get it back above water? Is this down season just an anomaly or sign of things to come?

Whenever Carroll decides to hang up his Nike Air Monarchs, he will rightfully be sent off as the greatest coach in franchise history, a much-deserved distinction for being at the helm for the Seahawks most successful decade and extended run of success. He brought a Super Bowl to Seattle and nearly accomplished the feat twice while also making a remarkable impact away from the field.

Considering his track record, Carroll may very well be up to the task getting the Seahawks rolling again in 2022. Knowing his competitive nature, he won't want to go out this way and the players continue to back him publicly.

But the NFL is a results-driven business, and while one can argue Carroll has earned the right to walk away when he's ready to do so and he shouldn't be fired after all he has accomplished, it's worth wondering if this latest meltdown nearing the finish line of an increasingly miserable season could be the domino that may lead to the end of his tenure on the sideline.