Stopping Titans' run game not enough

The Bears' defense won the battle, shutting down the Titans' run game, which ranked third in the league.

But the defense lost the war by allowing 289 passing yards to Kerry Collins in a 21-14 loss Sunday at Soldier Field. The Bears came in ranked 30th in passing yards allowed, and Collins had his best passing day of the season by far against them.

"We gave up 20 yards (rushing). That's decent, right?" linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "But it doesn't matter. If we don't win, it doesn't matter. Whenever you lose, you don't get production the way you want. You can play defense as good as you want, but it doesn't matter if you lose. We've got to get some more takeaways and some more sacks."

The Bears came into the game leading the NFL with 19 takeaways, but got only 1 vs. the Titans. They came in ranked 28th in sack percentage and got to Collins just once in 41 attempts.

Still the best: Three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs said last week that he considered the Bears the best team in the NFL, even though the Titans were and remain undefeated.

Sunday's 21-14 Bears loss didn't change his mind.

"There's not a team in the world that would change my mind about this team right here that I line up with every week," said Briggs, who was credited with a game-high 13 tackles. "There's not a doubt in my mind. Like I said, when we want to, we'll be there. I think we got a good glimpse of our defense, playing a little bit better today. It was cause for us to do so and we did, even though we didn't finish."

No consolation: With the Packers looming this weekend, coach Lovie Smith was asked if he could rationalize Sunday's loss to an AFC team.

"A loss is a loss," Smith said. "It's disappointing. In the (big) picture of things, if you have to have a loss, an ideal loss, if there is one, is an AFC game on the road. A home game - it doesn't matter who it is - you have to be able to defend your home turf. It was a big loss for us."

Still sitting out: Even though he was a full participant in practice during the week, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd was inactive for the fifth straight game with a sprained knee.

"I felt really good," Lloyd said after the game. "I felt ready to play."

Lloyd was asked if he lobbied coach Lovie Smith to play.

"I just wasn't up (active) this week," he said. "Who do I have to lobby? I'm just practicing, just getting ready, and when the head coach feels comfortable putting me out there, he'll put me out there." Asked if he was upset, Lloyd said: "I feel comfortable with the decision."