Bears defense did its job, but it 'wasn't enough' in loss to Colts

Philip Rivers wasn't sharp Sunday, but he didn't need to be.

Even with Rivers missing open receivers on numerous occasions, he and the Colts offense did enough to wear down the Bears defense in a 19-11 Colts win at Soldier Field. The Bears offense gave their defense little help, and Rivers was merely good enough to win the game.

Rivers completed only 55.2% of his passes. The Colts scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game, then the Bears forced five punts and held the Colts to four field goals the remainder of the game.

"Well, without watching the tape I felt like my gut feeling tells me they played well," coach Matt Nagy said of the defense.

With the offense sputtering, the Bears defense spent too much time on the field. Indianapolis dominated the time of possession in the second half by more than six minutes.

Twice in Sunday's game the Bears looked as if they might have game-changing defensive take-aways, but neither one worked out.

In the first half, Khalil Mack had an opportunity to catch a tipped pass from Rivers that floated right into - and through - Mack's hands. It went down as an incompletion. Later in the game, Bears safety Tashaun Gipson tipped a Rivers pass in the end zone intended for Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox. Bears linebacker Roquan Smith hauled in the tipped ball, but his foot was on the out-of-bounds line.

That too went for an incompletion.

"I mean we held them to four field goals, but unfortunately it wasn't enough for our team to overcome it," Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks said. "There's some plays on defense that we definitely want back, but I believe in our guys. I believe we have the capability to have a good season."

Still, the Bears came up with stop after stop.

The Colts were 8-for-19 on third down. Their vaunted rushing attack totaled 103 rushing yards, a modest sum by their standards, and averaged only 2.7 yards per carry.

"I think there were some big plays made," Hicks said. "There was some clutch situations where guys came up and performed. It just happened to not be enough in the scenario for us to get that W."