Bears 'disappointed', 'frustrated' and probably not playoff bound after loss

It's not often a team gets 4 takeaways, doesn't turn the ball over, leads by 9 points halfway through the fourth quarter and still loses the game -- but the Bears found a way to do it Sunday at Soldier Field.

And their 21-16 loss to the New York Giants in windy, mucky conditions on the lakefront essentially eliminates the Bears (5-7) from any postseason consideration.

But a team that has failed to win two games in a row by December and is in last place in its own division probably deserves not to be in the playoff picture anyway.

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Right now they're not, thanks to a sputtering offense that failed repeatedly to take advantage of scoring opportunities and a defense that turned to mush with a victory within reach.

"I'm disappointed in the defensive effort that we've had," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "Disappointed in how we've finished games."

Especially Sunday, where on three of the Giants' last four possessions, they drove 74, 75 and 77 yards.

The first drive ended with Charles Tillman's brilliant end-zone interception late in the third quarter that preserved the Bears' tenuous 16-7 lead.

After that, the big plays all belonged to the Giants.

Quarterback Eli Manning, ineffective and unproductive most of the game, threw a 6-yard TD pass to Amani Toomer with 6:54 left to bring the Giants within 16-14 on a play that originally was ruled incomplete but reversed on challenge.

The Bears' next possession ended with a punt after Rex Grossman was sacked for the sixth time.

The Giants quickly went 77 yards and took the lead on a 2-yard run by Ruben Droughns, spoiling a defensive effort that appeared plenty good enough to win #8230; for 3#189; quarters.

"We've been up and down all year," defensive end Alex Brown said. "We have to get off the field at the end and win the game. We didn't play the whole game.

"You want me to feel good about playing half a game?"

The game-winner came one play after Manning somehow squeezed a 15-yard dart into the hands of Plaxico Burress, who, as usual, was tightly covered by Tillman.

"It was a great throw by Eli, and a great catch," Tillman said. "I did the best I could; he just beat me."

The Bears got the ball back with 1:28 and one timeout left but ran out of time at the Giants' 28. It was a typical ending to a frustrating second half.

"We had a couple red zone opportunities and we got 3 points instead of 7, and it was a 5-point game," said tight end Desmond Clark, who caught 5 passes for 76 yards, including a 1-yard TD for the first score of the game. "If we converted those, it's a different ball game."

With the game tied at 7-7 in the second quarter, defensive tackle Anthony Adams fell on a loose ball that slipped from Manning's grasp as he cocked his arm to throw. The Bears drove to the Giants' 6-yard line but settled for Robbie Gould's 35-yard field goal.

Early in the third quarter, Adewale Ogunleye forced and recovered a fumble at the Giants' 24. The offense went forward 17 yards on 5 plays and then backward 15 yards on Terrence Metcalf's personal foul for kneeing Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell and had to settle for another 3 points on Gould's 41-yard field goal, good for a 16-7 lead.

"We just didn't take advantage of opportunities, didn't execute very well," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "When we had opportunities to make plays, we didn't make them, and sometimes the opportunities weren't there."

The offense got progressively worse after rolling up 106 yards in the first quarter and 108 in the second. The third quarter produced just 61 yards, 44 of which came on a Grossman-to-Clark pass on the last play.

In the fourth quarter the Bears managed just 37 yards on 19 plays, including three straight three-and-out series.

"We were up, trying to control the ball," center Olin Kreutz said. "It's up to us to run the clock out."

Grossman completed his career-best first 8 passes for 81 yards but just 17 of 38 after that, and he lost 52 yards on the 6 sacks.

Devin Hester dropped what should have been an 81-yard TD pass early in the second quarter, and, after Grossman lost 13 yards on a sack, Brad Maynard's punt from the end zone was partially blocked and went just 31 yards.

It turned into a 14-point swing when the Giants responded with their first score to tie the game at 7-7.

"There were a couple opportunities to make plays that weren't made for whatever reason, and it definitely would have helped us," Grossman said. "We scored 16 points, and that's not going to cut it, especially with the turnovers they gave us and field position.

"We should have done a lot better than we did, and it's just really frustrating right now."

The Giants, at 8-4, have the inside track to the first wild-card spot in the NFC, since no other non-division leader is better than 6-6.

Bears Bites

Directional punting bites: There, we said it.

Say goodnight bite: Slice it any way you'd like, but face the facts: These guys just aren't that good. The Bears are 2-6 against teams from the lowly NFC.

The NFC!?!

Move on bite: It's Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (pronounced Taves) and they play at the United Center.

Rowdy bite: Boy, was there ever some bad blood between the Bears and the Giants on Sunday afternoon. We haven't seen that kind of uncalled-for pushing and shoving since the doors swung open on Black Friday.

Useless bite: Thanks to Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver, we found out that after one particular series in the first half, Giants quarterback Eli Manning conferred with one of his coaches on the sideline and also spoke to tight end Jeremy Shockey. Fascinating.

He's no Superman bite: Although purposely avoided most of the day by Giants kickers, Devin Hester did have one glorious scoring chance Sunday on a long pass from Rex Grossman. But Chicago's superhero proved he's human after all when the ball doinked off his shoulder pads.

Dreaming bite: OK, the Bears are starting the fourth quarter of their schedule. If they can just win their final four games and Minnesota loses and #8230;