Emma: Bears Add On To Growing List Of Regrets
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A season for the Bears that was initially dreaded for its lack of hope has taken a dramatic turn to downright demoralizing in a different way.
The Bears' doom and gloom isn't in the form of apathy, like a year ago under the Marc Trestman regime. This team is competitive and competent but can't consistently come through. On Sunday against the Broncos, the Bears were again so close in another tough loss. The 17-15 final score served as a reminder for where the Bears went wrong.
Facing his former team, Chicago coach John Fox might have made the costly mistake to lose the game. Trailing 17-9, his gutsy decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line with 10:10 remaining backfired. The three points of a Robbie Gould field goal would've won the game, in hindsight.
Simply put, Fox didn't have faith in his offense and felt obligated to take a risk.
"We hadn't made many trips down to the end zone," Fox said of the decision. "We hadn't scored touchdowns. It had been kind of a field goal game. At that point in the game, we felt that was going to maybe be our last (touchdown) opportunity."
It wasn't the Bears' last chance. They had two more, in fact, with a touchdown coming as 24 seconds remained in the game. Do you think Fox wanted that fourth-and-goal back?
Fox soon had more to regret on the two-point conversion, as Jay Cutler checked into a draw to Jeremy Langford. Bears tight end Martellus Bennett missed the audible and ran a route, rather than sealing off the edge. Broncos safety T.J. Ward ran right past Bennett to the backfield and stopped Langford.
Sunday was a day billed as Fox's chance for revenge, a date with Denver and the franchise that fired him after four division titles and a Super Bowl berth. He could've out-coached his replacement, Gary Kubiak, and stuck it to Broncos football boss John Elway, the man with whom he consistently disagreed to the point of dismissal.
Instead, it was Fox left second-guessing his decisions. He was stuck wishing for another crack at the Broncos. Cutler could only hope for a few throws back, a couple more chances and one more shot at winning the game.
"They are a good team, but we let it get away from us," Cutler said.
Denver entered with a quality record of 7-2, but one not reflective of the team that took to frigid Soldier Field on Sunday. The Broncos pegged their hopes on backup quarterback Brock Osweiler, an efficient rushing attack and the NFL's top-ranked defense, one that had struggled as of late.
Jeff Joniak, the fine voice of the Bears, put it best in the WBBM broadcast, saying: "This is a ball-up-your-fist kind of game." It was physical, hard-nosed football, with a slim margin for error. The Bears, for all of their roster shortcomings, were right there with the Broncos, but they couldn't pull out a win.
Just like in losses to the Lions and Vikings, the Bears had a fighting chance.
The Bears couldn't take advantage of the inexperienced Osweiler, who posted a 127.1 passer rating. Chicago didn't muster up a running game on the Denver defense, being held to 86 rushing yards. And the Bears didn't contain the Broncos' rushing attack that went for 170 yards.
"S—t, they came down with a plan to run the ball down our throats and they ran the ball down our throats," Bears linebacker Pernell McPhee said.
Once again, the Bears are left asking, "What if?"
What if Matt Forte, Alshon Jeffery, Eddie Royal and Antrel Rolle, among others, were healthy? What if the offensive line could hold better blocks against the Broncos' aggressive blitz? What if Cutler hadn't fumbled the ball away with 2:23 remaining and the Bears in Broncos territory? And, of course, what if Fox had taken the three points or Cutler hadn't switched out to a draw play on the decisive two-point conversion?
In similarly close losses against the Lions and Vikings, the Bears let an opportunity slip away. Their 4-6 record properly reflects what this team is but doesn't reveal the chances that had come and gone.
"There have been a few games where we lost the fourth quarter and we have felt like we have been right there," Cutler said. "We put this game in the same box as those. Our margin for error isn't that great. We have to play pretty good football for four quarters and we have to play really good football in the fourth quarter."
When the Bears lost in Week 1 to the Packers, the moral victory felt wonderful for fans. Now, the Bears are 4-6 and looking at three losses they could've turned into wins. For all the credit the Bears have rightfully earned for giving their every effort to reach even the thought of a playoff berth, they are stuck wishing for second chances.
Cutler is right, the Bears beat themselves again.
