The Bears Den: September 08, 2014 - Chicago Bears week 1 news and notes

Turnovers, injuries cost Bears in loss - Larry Mayer: The Bears amassed 427 total yards and 29 first downs in Sunday's season opener. But they couldn't overcome costly turnovers, key injuries and an ineffective run defense in a 23-20 overtime defeat to the Bills.

Same problems doom Bears on both sides of the ball - Adam Hoge: Sunday’s performance was far from a disaster, but the game was one the Bears couldn’t afford to lose.

Were the Bears unprepared for Buffalo? - Is-Hub Arkush: Either the Bears once again are going to be the worst run defense in the NFL or, best-case scenario, they just weren't ready for Week 1.

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Chicago Bears 20 - Buffalo Bills 23 (OT)

Game blog - As it happened, courtesy of ChicagoBears.com.  Larry's pregame Q&As.

Game report - NFL.com: Bills, EJ Manuel outlast Bears in Chicago [with NFL Network Video highlights].

Game report - Patrick Finley: In what can only be described as an outright catastrophe, the Bears turned the ball over three times in a 23-20 season-opening loss..

Game report - Not-Hub Arnold: Bears forced to swallow a bitter season-opening pill in the form of a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Game report - James Neveau: Thanks to a Dan Carpenter field goal, the Bears fell in overtime to the Bills by a score of 23-20 on Sunday afternoon.

Game report - Scott Krinch: Miscues, injuries pile up in Bears' loss to the Bills.

Game review - Michael C. Wright's thoughts in the immediate aftermath of the game.

Game notes - Larry Mayer: Run defense struggles in OT loss; Chris Conte makes impact play; game stats and notes. Ola, de la Puente carry load after injuries ... quotes from the locker room ... stats & info.

[Video] ESPN - Fred Jackson's 38-yard rush in overtime set up Dan Carpenter's game-winning field goal as the Bills defeated the Bears 23-20.

[Video] ESPN - Jim Basquil and Ron Jaworski break down the Bills' win over the Bears.

[Video] Postgame Live - Turnovers doom Bears in season-opening loss.

[Video] - Jen Lada and Moon Mullin break down Bears' loss: Defense reverts at worst time; did injuries erode Cutler's confidence?

[Video] ESPN - Jeff Dickerson and Jon Greenberg break down the Bears' overtime loss to the Bills. [What's wrong with Greenberg's face at the start? It's like the alien in MIB who's trying to get used to wearing human skin. Mother of Ditka, are those bedroom eyes he's making to the camera right at the end? - Den]

[Video] ChicagoBears.com - Highlights of the Bears overtime loss to the Bills in week 1. Photos ... more from the Herald.

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Bad Jay 2: Electric Boogaloo

Cutler: 'We kept stubbing our toe' - Larry Mayer: Jay Cutler praised the O-line's performance in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Bills, but conceded that the offense has "some things we have to clean up."

Cutler's mistakes, Bills stymie Bears O - Michael C. Wright: They reeled off more than 400 yards of offense and converted 42 percent on third down, yet the Bears came up short in part because Jay Cutler continues to be Jay Cutler.

Full Cutler on display: Good, bad and ugly - Mike Imrem: Stop making excuses. Jay Cutler isn't special. He has a special arm and special legs, but nine years into his NFL career he's still trying to be special.

Cutler, offense must be better if team is to have a shot - Michael Wilbon: Drive-killing decisions and venting after losses that the media just doesn't understand will come off as unbelievably lame, and it's too early in the season to conclude that Trestman, Cutler and this offense can't do any better than this.

Will the real Jay Cutler please stand up? - Rick Telander: Two sacks and two deadly interceptions that were reminiscent of depressing old times pretty much told the story for the Bears and Cutler.

New year, same bad decisions by Cutler - David Haugh: Nine months of supposed progress came undone in one forgettable afternoon along the lakefront.

Cutler’s mystifying interception brings back bad memories - Mark Potash: To Cutler, this was one mistake. To the rest of us, it was the latest one. Shouldn’t he be over that kind of thing in his ninth NFL season?

[Video] Postgame Live - 15 on 6: QB had a good game, but managing situations big issue for Cutler. Can't lose chance at points with turnover.

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Offense

Bears' offense more hurtful than helpful - Bob LeGere: Not only did the offense not provide the expected support for a defense in transition, it made things more difficult by turning the ball over three times.

Turnovers, injuries spoil launch of Bears' explosive offense - Rich Campbell: Improved offense in Marc Trestman's second opening day was anything but, with injuries clouding outlook for improvement as Bears' offense gives game to Bills.

Turnovers spoil Bears’ opener - Dan Durkin: There are 15 games left on the schedule and time to clean things up, but that doesn’t take away the sting from losing the home opener to a seemingly inferior team.

Next-man-up could be mantra for Bears at receiver - Scott Krinch: At one point in the fourth quarter the Bears were running a three-receiver set on third down with Josh Morgan, Santonio Holmes and Micheal Spurlock.

View from the enemy - Fred Mitchell: Corey Graham makes Cutler pay for picking on him, while Kyle Williams also said Cutler and Bennett made their intentions obvious.

Workhorse Forte leaves lasting impression - Not-Hub Arnold: Despite losing two of his starting O-linemen, Matt Forte was among the Bears' most productive offensive players.

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Defensive issues 2: Electric Boogaloo

Jared Allen: Bears better fix run defense - Jeff Dickerson: In a home defeat full of disappointments, perhaps the most upsetting development was the Bears' continued inability to stop the run.

Tape won't lie: Bears defense looks the same - Brad Biggs: The Bears did do a nice job of getting off the field on third down, but EJ Manuel wasn't pressured enough into making the kind of mistakes Cutler did, and DBs had to make far too many run stops.

Defensive miscues felt like a mistake to the heart - Adam L. Jahns: The scoresheet told a story that was reminiscent of last season’s woes, when the Bears were last in sacks and in stopping the run, but the defense still played well enough to win.

Conte done in by Jackson's stiff-arm - Jon Greenberg: Chris Conte had a game-changing interception in the third quarter, but in the end, he’ll be remembered more for a game-defining trucking by Fred Jackson in overtime. Scott Krinch: Redemption turns into nightmare for Conte.

Conte defends his play on Fred Jackson’s big run - Patrick Finley: Once it became clear Jackson had positioned the Bills for an easy field goal, his only hope was to try to force a fumble. Dan Wiederer: Interception offers redemption; rough OT loss does not.

[Video] PGL - Willie Young on the Bears hoping to learn from mistakes, his thought process from the DE position, and why he signed with the Bears.

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More from the game

Game notes - Chris Emma: Inability to finish drives consistently dooms Bears; Conte’s up-and-down day; the injury bug bites.

Game notes - Not-Hub Arkush: O-line replacements step up, but it's a case of new faces, same issues for Bears defense in Week One loss to Bills.

Game notes - Adam L. Jahns: Flea-flicker may have disrupted Cutler's rhythm; Martellus Bennett takes blame for first INT; Jordan Mills displayed some expected rust as Mario Williams produced.

Game notes - Dan Wiederer: Bears cautious with Alshon Jeffery's injury; Martellus Bennett one of the better Bears performers on Sunday; Santonio Holmes felt the officials missed a PI flag.

Game notes - Not-Hub Fishbain with postgame quotes, things that did/didn't work, and key moments from the game.

Injury news - Seth Gruen: Roberto Garza, Matt Slauson to have MRIs on ankle injuries; Alshon Jeffery’s injury limited offensive play-calling.

Bears quotes - Michael C. Wright with a few things observed and heard in the locker room after the Bears' 23-20 loss to the Bills.

Game review - Jeff Dickerson's five things we learned: In the NFL, failing to beat bad teams usually comes back to haunt you. The Bears will probably regret this one in December, if they are chasing a playoff berth.

[Video] ESPN - Brandon Marshall gets the game ball from Michael C. Wright after catching eight passes for 71 yards and a TD.

Roster notes - Brad Biggs: Bears expected to sign safety off Vikings practice squad.

Game grades - Jeff Dickerson: With four of the next five games on the road, the Bears better hope this loss doesn't come back to haunt them later in the season. Patrick Finley: What's rising and what's falling.

Game grades - Moon Mullin: QB - RB - WR/TE - O-line - D-line - LB - DB - STs - coaching.

[Video] Postgame Live - The panel's Monsters of the Midway.  Kyle Fuller gets some love.

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Whither Bears?

Bears have nowhere to go but up - Barry Rozner: It's hard to imagine a worse start to the 2014 season for the Bears, but they insist on playing the rest of the schedule even if it seems pointless to some fans and media at the moment.

Can the Bears’ problems be fixed? - Rick Morrissey: The Bears had enough ­challenges on their hands without self-induced mistakes and penalties that are fixable. When are those mistakes going to be considered unacceptable?

Everything is awful - Dan Bernstein: After a home-opening loss that saw 192 rushing yards surrendered to a team that tried to hold itself back with 103 yards of penalties, what better time to buy our special proprietary combination of disgust and anguish?

What should we do now that the Bears' season is over? - Steve Rosengloat: And so ends the Bears’ 2014 season. Thanks for coming, everybody.

[Video] Postgame Live - Final thoughts: Team needs to regroup for trip to San Francisco.

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