More red-zone blews

The Bears were going to let their play speak for themselves after turning down NBC for pregame interviews last week. They had talked and talked during a long skid, and as they explained, there just wasn't much else to say. The question now is if there is much more to see this season. With a chance to reach .500 and enter the NFC playoff picture, the Bears (4-6) instead gave away a lead late in losing 24-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night at Soldier Field. It showed a national television audience what Chicago fans have suspected for weeks: This Bears team might not figure out where it went wrong until an offseason autopsy is taken. Too much has gone wrong, and there just isn't an explanation for the shortcomings now that they've lost five of their last six. Jay Cutler, who the network wanted to feature along with general manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith in a piece on the expectations for this season, played better -- but it was progress only in the sense that he stopped his recent avalanche of interceptions. Cutler had a chance when the Eagles (6-4) were forced to punt at the two-minute warning. The Bears took over on their own 21 with 1:51 to play and no timeouts. But they couldn't get across midfield as linebacker Tracy White deflected a pass for tight end Greg Olsen, and safety Sean Jones intercepted -- Cutler's only pick of the night. Cutler now is 4-10 in prime time and 0-4 this season, raising all sorts of questions -- even ones about his vision and diabetes. ''No,'' Cutler said. ''We've had good [blood/sugar] numbers all year long. Diabetes has never been an issue. It will never be an issue.'' As usual, it can't all be put on the quarterback, who was 24-for-43 for 171 yards. The running game remained conspicuously absent with the exception of a 72-yard burst by rookie Kahlil Bell in the second quarter. Take away that run, and the Bears produced only 54 yards on 19 carries -- just another reason why the scrutiny of coordinator Ron Turner will increase. Smith's defense could not get off the field with the game and season on the line. But it did do some good things; the pass rush was solid, cornerback Zack Bowman intercepted a pass for the third straight game and Charles Tillman forced three fumbles. But what once was a signature unit for the team now is just another defense -- one that allowed 157 rushing yards, including a 34-yard dash by Michael Vick up the middle on third-and-one. ''I said this the last couple weeks,'' end Adewale Ogunleye said. ''This stuff is getting old fast. It's frustrating. The lack of consistency is becoming unsettling and disturbing.'' It would have been a different outcome if Cutler could have hooked up with his targets on some deep balls. He missed Olsen, Devin Hester and Johnny Knox on deep throws that all would have been touchdowns. The first two came on the same possession that resulted in a field goal; the last to Knox came with less than four minutes to play when the Bears finally took a good shot at cornerback Sheldon Brown, who was not at full speed with a pulled hamstring. ''Just the throw,'' Cutler said in explaining what went wrong to Knox on the perfect third-and-five call from the Bears' 30. ''What do you want me to say about it? A throw I should hit. I didn't.'' Ultimately, the failures in the red zone doomed the offense. When you trade touchdowns for field goals, you usually end up on the wrong end of things. The Bears -- 5-for-16 scoring touchdowns in the red zone over their last five games -- went just 1-for-3. The Bears had premium field position at the Eagles' 37-yard line after cornerback Tillman stripped LeSean McCoy and Hunter Hillenmeyer recovered. But the offense couldn't capitalize, and Antonio Dixon blocked Robbie Gould's 48-yard field goal try with 11:01 remaining. The Eagles mounted a 62-yard drive that chewed up 5:30, and they went ahead for good when McCoy ran 10 yards through a big hole on the left side. The Bears led twice in the second half, first breaking ahead 12-10 early in the third quarter on a 48-yard field goal by Gould, who was 4-for-5. The Eagles answered when a play fake by Donovan McNabb led to a coverage breakdown, and DeSean Jackson was open behind safety Al Afalava for a 48-yard touchdown pass. But a 46-yard kickoff return by Knox set up the Bears with good field position, and they quickly drove down to retake the lead at 20-17 on a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kellen Davis and a two-point conversion toss to Matt Forte. The Bears , who had fallen behind 10-0 in the first quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass from McNabb to Carver Academy graduate Jason Avant and David Akers' 25-yard field goal, pulled within 10-9 before halftime -- but they could have been in command. Gould's first field goal, a 45-yarder, came after Cutler overthrew Olsen and Hester on consecutive plays from the 27. Linebacker Chris Gocong had blown his coverage, leaving Olsen wide open; Hester was free after a shoulder pump, but Cutler overshot him, too. Gould followed with two field goals from 28 yards, but they came after red-zone miscues -- really, the story of the last month-and-a-half. ''This wasn't part of the master plan,'' Smith said. ''But that's where we are now. I still feel like we're in the mix if we can correct a lot of the small things.'' But where to start?