After comparing Jeffery Simmons' arrival to waking up on Christmas morning to find presents under the tree, Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was just as excited to unwrap the special gift Santa Poles delivered.

During his Bears debut Monday night in Seattle, the All-Pro defensive tackle tied for the team lead with six tackles and registered one sack, two tackles-for-loss and one pass breakup in a 34-17 victory over the defending Super Bowl champions.

"He raises the level of everybody on the field," Allen said. "That's a positive thing. We certainly felt his impact in this game and [are] excited about what I think he can do for us as we keep going in the future."

The Bears acquired Simmons in a blockbuster trade with the Titans last Thursday. Despite arriving in Chicago later that night — just four days before Monday night's game in Seattle — he played 87% of the defensive snaps (55 of 63) and did not need Allen to scale back the game plan for him.

"I really don't feel like we were handcuffed very much in terms of what we could do and what we could call," Allen said. "This guy is the consummate professional. He was on his stuff, knew exactly what to do. And we were really able to go out there and just call the defense however we saw fit."

Whether Simmons was rushing the passer or chasing down a running back across the field, the eighth-year pro was everything that Allen had anticipated and more.

"When he first came here and you (reporters) were asking me a bunch of questions about him and what made you like him, obviously there's the physical traits that you really like about the player," Allen said. "But I thought it was more about his personal and football character. His football character bleeds off the tape. It bled off the tape in Tennessee. It bled off the tape the other night in Seattle. He plays the game tough, he plays the game violent, he plays the game hard.

"Why does he raise the level of other guys around him? Because when your best players work the way he works, practice the way he practices, prepare the way he prepares and then play the game the way he plays, you don't have a choice but to raise your level."

One Bears player who raised his performance level Monday night was defensive end Montez Sweat, who teamed with Simmons for two seasons at Mississippi State. Returning to action after serving a two-game suspension imposed by the NFL, Sweat registered his third sack of the season, with two others nullified by penalties.

"He played really well," Allen said. "Obviously, he was motivated to get back out there and play, so that was good to see, and quite frankly, that's the version that we expect to see every single week. I think everybody had a little bit of an uptick. One, going into Seattle, knowing the opponent that we were playing. Two, having a guy like Jeffery Simmons on the field, which kind of raises everybody's level of play. Now really the key for us defensively is, 'How do we continue to do that consistently week in and week out?' That's the challenge in our league, that you have to be able to show up each and every week and perform at a high level."

Another defensive lineman who performed at a high level in Seattle was James Lynch. The unheralded seventh-year tackle, who played the previous two seasons with Simmons in Tennessee, intercepted a pass that was deflected by Austin Booker and returned it 16 yards to the Seahawks' 6, setting up the Bears' final touchdown.

"[Lynch] doesn't get a lot of attention, at least publicly," Allen said. "He's playing really well. On any good team — offense, defense, kicking game, it doesn't really matter — you have to have a lot of role players, guys who understand what their role is, and they play their role exceptionally well.

"Some of them have a role that allows them to make more splash plays. Some of them have to do a lot of the dirty work. This guy does a ton of the dirty work for us. He's been highly effective at doing that. I was really excited and happy for him to be able to make the play. It took him a little while to get down the field though, so we're going to try and work on that sprint yardage a little bit."