Kam Chancellor definitely had an impact in Seahawks’ shutout of Bears

Even though Seattle lost its first two games, the Seahawks were favored by 14 1/2 points Sunday in their home opener against Chicago, which had backup Jimmy Clausen at quarterback.

Turns out, that was too generous to the Bears, who were on the wrong end of a 26-0 shutout.

Although the Seahawks sputtered offensively in the first half, and even heard a smattering of boos as they headed for the locker room at halftime, they came alive in the second half and clearly benefited from the return of Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor, who ended his contract holdout last week.

“He did have impact,” Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll said. “We could feel it during the week. The guys were excited to play with him again, and he was really exited to be back and play with his teammates. You could just see, he made us whole.

“He’s a terrific football player, and he had a special impact,” Carroll said. “What more can you do? We shut them out.”

It was the first time Chicago had been shut out since 2002, and the fourth time since 1990.