LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Even after losing four of their last five games, the slumping Bears still believe that they can salvage their season. But they know that their margin for error is shrinking.

Thursday night’s 10-6 loss in San Francisco dropped the Bears (4-5) into third place in the NFC North, and they’ve already lost to three of the six teams that are ahead of them in the race for two wildcard spots.

Lovie Smith and the Bears hope that it's not too late to turn the 2009 season around.

“We have to win out,” said defensive tackle Tommie Harris. “We have no room to get any more losses. If you lose again, you’re going to be hoping that another team loses for you to get in. You don’t want to be in that position. We were in that position last year. It’s basically in our hands right now.”

After a three-day weekend, the Bears reconvened Monday at Halas Hall to practice in advance of Sunday night’s home game against the Eagles (5-4). Asked what message coach Lovie Smith delivered to his players, Harris said: “Just continue to keep playing hard. Stay focused. Keep believing in this team.”

The Bears hope that following that sound advice will help them snap a two-game losing streak. Four days before they fell to the 49ers, they were blown out by the Cardinals at Soldier Field.

“Whenever you go through a few games like we have, you’re anxious to get back on the football field,” Smith said. “It seems like we’ve been in this situation before. I’ve said the same thing before. We did some good things the last game we played. We put ourselves in position to win the game at the end, but we didn’t come through.”

Despite a sloppy performance by their offense, the Bears nearly escaped with an improbable comeback victory over the 49ers. Trailing by four points, they reached the San Francisco 12-yard line with :08 remaining. But on the final play, quarterback Jay Cutler threw his fifth interception of the game.

Smith defended Cutler Monday, suggesting that the quarterback isn’t the only player to blame for interceptions while also lamenting missed opportunities to generate takeaways on defense.

Asked whether an improved running game would help reduce Cutler’s interceptions—the Bears rushed for just 43 yards on 21 carries against the 49ers—Smith said: “A lot goes into when you turn the ball over with an interception. Of course the quarterback will get blamed for it all. [But] all of those weren’t his fault.

“The running game will help that a lot. We need to get our running game going. We’ve said that all along. When you’re a running team, the run will set up your pass. That hasn’t happened for us yet, but we’ll stay committed to it. Just like the weather’s changing, hopefully some of that can change.”

While the Bears defense played exceptionally well in limiting the 49ers to just 10 points despite the five interceptions, the unit produced just one takeaway on a Zackary Bowman interception. Charles Tillman forced a fumble inside the Chicago 5, but the 49ers recovered and kicked a field goal.

“It’s a turnover ratio, it’s not turning the ball over on one side,” Smith said. “We had opportunities defensively to get some takeaways and we didn’t take advantage of it.”

Since the NFL adopted its current playoff format in 2002, four teams that started 4-5 have earned post-season berths: the Browns and Jets in 2002, the Packers in 2003 and the Chargers in 2008.

“Can we still make the playoffs?” Smith asked rhetorically. “We have five losses. Five losses don’t keep you out of anything. Our players realize that. It’s a big game coming up. We realize the position we’re in right now. There’s not a lot of room for error. That’s why we’re back on the practice field today.”

When a reporter suggested that some NFL teams could self-destruct after hitting a rough patch, Smith vowed that the Bears would not be among them.

“We won’t,” Smith said. “I don’t know about most teams, but we won’t. We’ll get better as we go through these things. That’s what I see in our football team.”