Bears picked clean in 10-6 loss to 49ers

SAN FRANCISCO - The Bears' fourth loss in five games ended fittingly.

Trailing by 4 points with time running out, Jay Cutler drove the Bears' inconsistent offense 78 yards to the 49ers' 12-yard line with eight seconds left, but he was picked off in the end zone by Michael Lewis on the final play.

It was Cutler's career-worst fifth interception of the game, and his second in the red zone, where he has been picked off five times this season.

"We had a lot of stuff going on," said Cutler, who was trying to squeeze a throw into Greg Olsen in the back of the end zone under the goal post. "It just didn't work out."

Despite an exceptional defensive performance, the Bears weren't able to overcome Cutler's mistakes and an offense that never established a running game.

The result was a 10-6 loss to the 49ers, who improved to 4-5 under head coach Mike Singletary, who had a Hall of Fame playing career with the Bears from 1981-92.

That the Bears' offensive ineptitude occurred on national TV only made it more embarrassing.

For Cutler, it was his worst performance in what is rapidly deteriorating into a lost season for the 4-5 Bears. He was picked off four times in the season-opening 21-15 loss to the Packers in Green Bay, and he was intercepted three times in a 45-10 loss at Cincinnati.

Whether Thursday night's interceptions were forced throws or not, Bears coach Lovie Smith didn't care to distinguish.

"An interception is an interception to me," he said. "Jay is trying to make a play on every one, but you just have to use a little better judgment on some of them, especially the ones in the end zone. We just can't have it."

A Pro Bowl pick last year with the Denver Broncos, Cutler - who cost the Bears two first-round picks, a second-rounder and quarterback Kyle Orton - already has been intercepted a league-worst 17 times while throwing 14 TD passes.

"I have to apologize to the defense," Cutler said, "and the offense as a whole has to apologize. They (the defense) played a great game. They kept us in there, even throughout all the turnovers. We (the offense) have to play a lot better."

The Bears' offense, which moved the ball fitfully for most of the night, took over at midfield after a short punt by the 49ers' Andy Lee early in the fourth quarter, trailing by just a point.

But three plays later Cutler was picked off for the fourth time, when safety Mark Roman cut in front of tight end Kellen Davis and raced 27 yards with the pick to the Bears' 44. Frank Gore's 28-yard run set up a 21-yard field goal by Joe Nedney that gave the 49ers a 10-6 lead with 10:11 remaining.

Cutler wound up completing 29 of 52 passes for 307 yards but finished with a passer rating of 33.2, the second worst of his career.

He also got no help from the Bears' run game. Matt Forte struggled for 41 yards on 20 carries, the sixth time in eight games he has been under 3.6 yards per carry.

In the aftermath, Smith wasn't sure if his supposed franchise quarterback would lose confidence after all the interceptions.

"I think it knocks you back a few steps when you throw that many interceptions," the coach said. "Yes, it hurts you."

Cutler's third interception, a short jump pass intended for Devin Hester, was tipped at the line of scrimmage, and gave the 49ers excellent field position at their 45-yard line.

But the Bears' defense came up huge, as Lance Briggs and Adewale Ogunleye stuffed 49ers quarterback Alex Smith on fourth-and-1 and the Bears took over at their own 46.

A 31-yard screen pass to Forte started the drive, but it stalled after that, and the Bears settled for Robbie Gould's 38-yard field goal, which left them trailing 7-6 with 7:27 left in the third quarter.

An error-prone first half, that included 2 of Cutler's interceptions, left the Bears fortunate to be trailing only 7-3 at Candlestick Park, thanks to Gould's 50-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.

Cutler's second interception of the game led to the first score of the evening and a 7-0 49ers lead.

Targeting Hester along the sideline, Cutler instead connected with Niners cornerback Tarell Brown when Hester slipped and fell while coming back to the ball.

Brown returned the pick 51 yards to the Bears' 14, where Frank Gore needed just 1 carry to reach the end zone with 2:03 left in the first half.

The playoffs appear out of reach for a Bears team that still has to play the Eagles next, the Vikings twice, the Packers and the Ravens, but no one's admitting it.

"Sure, we can make the playoffs," Smith said. "Five losses won't keep you out of the playoffs. There's a lot of football left to go."

That might not be a good thing for Smith's team.

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