Bears surly after home loss to Washington

His surliness and short answers in postgame interviews remain as consistent as the Bears' failures at Soldier Field.

"It hurts," Kyle Fuller said of Sunday's 24-21 loss to Washington, the Bears' 13th defeat in their last 16 home games.

Where do the 5-8 Bears, who have three games left, go from here?

"To the next game (at Minnesota)," Fuller said.

Will they still play with the same intensity?

"Why not?" Fuller snapped. "Why wouldn't we?"

And Bears fans thought they were sick and tired of all this.

Fuller couldn't even crack a schoolboy grin when asked about his team-leading second interception, which set up Matt Forte's game-tying touchdown late in the third quarter.

What did the second-year cornerback see on Kirk Cousins' underthrown pass toward the Bears' sideline?

"The ball," Fuller said.

"A huge spark," cornerback Tracy Porter said in a friendly tone.

For the second week in a row at home, the Bears fizzled, allowing their opponent to snatch its first road win of the season.

When it rains - and it did Sunday - it pours.

Take Matt Jones' 18-yard reception on third-and-6 that gave Washington a first down at the Bears 45 with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Cousins' pass was intended for tight end Jordan Reed, who jumped almost simultaneously with nickel back Sherrick McManis. The ball was tipped. The Bears had a chance to make a momentum-changing play.

"It was close," McManis said. "I, at least, thought it was a PBU (pass breakup) or that (the ball) was going to hit the ground."

Instead, the football dropped into the lap of Jones, who fumbled the ball before recovering it.

"All I can do is shake my head," Porter said. "You think a ball like that will land incomplete. But (Jones) was in the right place at the right time."

Too often, again, the Bears were not in the correct place. Five of their losses are by 6 points or fewer. The same team that stunned the Packers on Thanksgiving night at Lambeau Field has lost back-to-back games to teams with sub-.500 records.

"It's sad to say, but I think we're playing to our competition," Porter said. "Winning teams don't play (down) to their competition. They play to their own potential. That's something that, collectively, we're still trying to learn as a team."

Aside from an earlier 32-yard catch by Reed and DeSean Jackson's 29-yard reception that set up Dustin Hopkins' tiebreaking field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Bears defense didn't get bit by big plays. Reed, Washington's leading receiver coming into the game, had 9 grabs for 120 yards. His 5-yard touchdown catch, after a burst across the middle of the field, extended the visitors' lead to 21-7 midway through the third.

"We knew they had a good play-action game just because they have so much speed on the outside," Bears safety Chris Prosinski said. "So we played everything top, down. We didn't want to give up the big play."

Willie Young continued to make plays for the Bears. He had a sack for the fourth game in a row and also had 2 other tackles for loss. He hasn't lost his enthusiasm or motivation, despite the Bears' 5-8 record. He won't pack it in over the final three weeks.

"Ain't no challenge," Young said. "You got to continue to come in every day and work at it, win or lose."

Enough said.