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Mistakes, poor ‘D’ lead to 42-21 loss - Patrick Finley: What stung the most wasn’t merely what had happened at the Edward Jones Dome; it was how they had kept up with the Joneses. The Lions lost, and the Packers and Vikings tied.
'Lost' Bears lose self-control and chance to take North lead - Moon Mullin: There are obvious, almost uncharacteristic cracks that have formed and even widened since their long-ago 3-0 start, but the Bears simply don’t seem to know how to fix them.
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Chicago Bears 21, St. Louis Rams 42
Tavon Austin's early rushing TD launches Rams past Bears - Game report & [Video] highlights from NFL.com. Box scores.
Game notes - The Tribune's drive chart, game stats, and three performances of note.
Larry Mayer's Game Blog - LM: Well, the good news is it's still early. Of course, the bad news is the Rams may be up 70-0 by halftime if things continue this way.
Bears drop sloppy game in St. Louis - Bob LeGere: The Bears' loss to St. Louis on Sunday came thanks to meltdowns in nearly every area. The worst culprit was the run defense as the Rams piled up 258 yards on the ground.
[Video] PostGame Live - Moon Mullin & Jen Lada break down Bears loss at Rams.
Rapid Reaction - Dan Durkin: For the second straight week, the Bears came out flat, except this time there was no comeback.
Rapid Reaction - Michael C. Wright's thoughts on the Bears' 42-21 loss to the Rams. Jeff Dickerson's 5 things we learned: "I can live with Long occasionally losing his cool, because I lived through the J’Marcus Webb era."
[Video] Jeff Dickerson & Michael C. Wright - Fatty McHamsterCheeks and Kev's Favo(u)rite Bears Reporter recap the Bears' 42-21 loss to the Rams.
[Video] PostGame Live - Bears fall in a sloppy performance, get what they deserve.
[Video] PostGame Live - Bears defense torched on the ground; offense struggle to make plays where it counts.
Game notes - Dan Wiederer: McCown sets franchise record for completions, commits first turnovers of season; Bears penalties; Tavon Austin's score lowlight for bad run D; more from the game.
Game notes - Bob LeGere: Painful day but McCown still having fun; defense getting flattened; Marshall bounces back; stats & info.
Game notes - Seth Gruen: Forte goes over 100 total yards again, but haunted by fumble; Bears struggled with speedy Rams D-line.
Game notes - Adam Hoge: Trestman's coaching decisions under questions again; penalties sting for 2nd straight week; no answers on D; missed opportunity to take NFCN lead; more from the game.
[Video] Game review - Tom Waddle, who was the only ESPNChicago pundit to predict a Bears loss, breaks down yesterday's game. Unfortunately, Tom Waddle is always right.
Four Downs - David Haugh's thoughts after the Rams run wild vs Bears.
Bears quotes - The Tribune with postgame quotes after the 42-21 loss to the Rams on Sunday.
Photos from ChicagoBears.com ... DailyHerald ... SunTimes ... Tribune.
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Offense
McCown holding up his end - Rick Telander: The Bears' backup QB has been excellent in relief of Jay Cutler. All he needs is for his starting teammates to play along with him.
The glow comes off McCown - Mike Imrem: In Sunday's loss at St. Louis, McCown indicated why Trestman is partial to Cutler as his QB. But if this team doesn't play better defense or commit fewer penalties, it won't matter who plays the position.
Bushrod has real battle with Robert Quinn - Rich Campbell: DE puts game out of reach with sack, fumble recovery and return for TD.
Failure in red zone proves costly - Dan Wiederer: Bears unable to gain momentum at start of second half in loss to Rams, failing on key fourth-and-goal at 1.
Four downs for nothing in ‘tough series’ for Bears - Steve Greenberg: We’ll take you through the four failed to-goal plays again, because why live through such a frustrating turn of events only once?
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Defense
Defense can’t get act together after ‘O’ gets Bears back in game - Mark Potash: The Bears’ defense looks as though it has nothing left, and there doesn’t seem to be enough practice, film study or resilience that can help them.
Bears' run defense is building a bad reputation - Michael C. Wright: The Bears have now allowed eight runs of 32 yards or more, including three of 40-plus yards. They have surrendered 40 runs for gains of at least 10 yards.
Bears have that run-down feeling again - Rich Campbell: Any RB can gash the Bears these days. All-Pro or second-stringer, established veteran or off-the-street free agent, bruiser or speedster. This once-proud defense stops the run like a colander stops water.
Bears defense can't stop the run - Brad Biggs: The simplicity of the Bears' scheme since Lovie Smith arrived in 2004 is also its beauty. The Bears are not going to confuse you but they are going to beat you with superior players at key positions. Missing them, the run defense is a mess.
Bears getting a real run-around - Gene Chamberlain: The really scary thing about how the Bears played run defense in Sunday’s 42-21 loss to the Rams had less to do with the 258 rushing yards they allowed than with what it means about next week.
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Penalties cost Bears
Loss a real flag for heavily penalized Bears - Rick Morrissey: It’s one thing to get beat, it’s another to beat yourself to a pulp, which is what the undisciplined visitors from Chicago did in a 42-21 loss to the Rams.
Sloppiness again a problem for Bears - Adam Hoge: Poor starts, penalties and red zone offense continue to plague Bears for second game in a row. And then there's the run defense.
Bears lack discipline in frustrating defeat - David Haugh: One week after showing resilience they want to define them, the Bears simply couldn't get out of their own way even if Trestman failed to acknowledge it.
Bears offer no defense of loss to Rams - Barry Rozner: It would be much easier to list the things that went well for the Bears Sunday, than all that went wrong, but nothing was worse than their NFL-worst run defense.
Penalties and lack of D cost Bears - Jon Greenberg: Undisciplined Bears waste opportunity to bolster playoff hopes with loss to Rams.
Trestman fields another unprepared, undisciplined team - Steve Rosenbloom: I don’t know if this qualifies as Trestman’s first major crisis as coach of the Bears, but when his team is unconscionably unprepared to start consecutive games, it sure feels like it.
Hester keeps his head after holding penalty takes away NFL record - Steve Greenberg: #23 doesn't blame Steltz for penalty call that negated what would have been an NFL-record TD return.
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Long versus saves Long
Long brothers involved in scuffle - Michael C. Wright: Given that Kyle Long appeared to kick a player during the scrum, it’s fortunate for the Bears that officials didn’t eject him.
Kyle Long: ‘I lost my cool’ - Adam Hoge: Kyle Long is fortunate he was able to play the entire game Sunday.
Heat of the moment boils over for Kyle Long - Moon Mullin: Chris Long, who ran off the bench to restrain his irate brother, probably saved Kyle from immediate ejection.
Emotional, long day for Long brothers in loss to Rams - Brad Biggs: Rams' Chris helps prevent Bears' Kyle from getting ejected from game.
Kyle Long apologizes for play in which brother Chris intervened - Patrick Finley: Kyle was lucky the referee didn't see the attempted kick but apologized afterward.
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Game grades
Stock Watch - Patrick Finley puts AP in the "rising" category, in advance.
Game grades - Mike Spellman's game ball goes to Benny Cunningham. That's how bad it was.
Game grades - Mark Potash hands out his game grades in a delightful slideshow format.
Game grades - Jeff Dickerson's report card for Bears-Rams.
Moon Mullin grades the coaching and by position group: QB - RB - WR/TE - OL - DL - LB - DB - STs.
Game grades - Will Brinson's team-by-team grades for Week 12: A bad day in the NFC North.
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Polish sausage
Know thy enemies - Vikings 26, Packers 26: Game report & [Video] highlights from NFL.com. Box scores.
Know thy enemy: Lions - Buccaneers 24, Lions 21: Game report & [Video] highlights from NFL.com. Box scores.
More from Windy City Gridiron:
- Chicago Bears vs St. Louis Rams Recap: Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down
- Final Score: Bears lose to Rams 42-21
- Chicago Bears vs St. Louis Rams: Complete Coverage
- Bears' Six-Pack Keys to Victory Over the Rams
- The Weekend Bears Den: November 23, 2013 - Week 12 Bears-Rams news & notes
After spending a combined 5 hours yesterday watching Ireland heartbreakingly come within 30 seconds of beating New Zealand for the first time ever in 109 years of trying, and then sit through the Bears' meltdown... mark me down for more of the good, less of the bad.