To coach Marc Trestman and his players, the sting of the Bears' 23-20 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's season opener had not subsided a day later.
"We had a very disappointed team in the locker room last night," Trestman said Monday. "We had a very disappointed group today watching tape. We watched the game together by segment, and although there were some positives, it doesn't take away from the fact that we disappointed ourselves and our fans by not finding a way to win the game.
"Credit to Buffalo for coming in here and getting a win. But we didn't play well enough to win and we know we've got to do a lot better."
The Bears compiled 427 total yards and 29 first downs Sunday, but they committed three turnovers that the Bills converted into 13 points. The most talked about play during Trestman's Monday press conference was Jay Cutler's second interception of the game.
With the score tied 17-17 midway through the fourth quarter, the Bears faced third-and-one from the Buffalo 34. Cutler rolled to his right and threw back across the middle to tight end Martellus Bennett. But defensive tackle Kyle Williams stepped in front of Bennett and picked off the pass.
Trestman revealed that Cutler took "accountability and responsibility" for the play during a film session Monday, saying: "We went through the tape today and Jay was very clear. Jay just said, 'I've got to take care of the football. I've got to throw it away.'"
Had that happened, Trestman said he would have kept the offense on the field on fourth-and-one.
"What you're coaching guys to do is either throw it away or if you can get the first down get it." Trestman said. "We were going to go for it on fourth down. We were in a four-down situation right there. We tried to get him on the perimeter and make something happen and we didn't get it done.
"Anytime you're in a position to run or throw it, just take care of the football. And as I said, Jay spoke out immediately and said, 'I've got to do a better job. I've just got to throw it away.'"
When a reporter implied that Cutler makes poor decisions on a regular basis, Trestman defended the veteran quarterback, who holds most of the Bears' all-time passing records.
"I've seen Jay do a lot of really good things with the football, so I don't know what that means," Trestman said. "Everybody has their own perspective and they're entitled to it. But in the time I've been with him he's made a lot of really good decisions and I haven't seen much of this go on.
"He lost himself for a minute and made a decision that I know we've seen other great quarterbacks make and he certainly made it there. As I said, he's taken accountability for that and responsibility for that decision."
Trestman praised running back Kyle Long, who led the Bears in rushing with a game-high 82 yards on 17 carries and in receiving with eight catches for 87 yards.
"I thought Matt had an outstanding game as a pass protector, as a runner and as a pass receiver," Trestman said. "I thought he was into a really good midseason form."
Trestman was also pleased with how the offensive line blocked, stating that the two sacks the Bears allowed were both due to tight coverage rather than breakdowns up front. The coach liked how Michael Ola and Brian de la Puente performed after replacing injured starters Matt Slauson and Roberto Garza at left guard and center, respectively.
"The fact that Michael Ola and Brian went in there and played very, very well against one of the best fronts in the league is certainly a positive," Trestman said.
While there certainly were some developments to build on, Trestman is more concerned with correcting the mistakes the Bears made in all three phases.
"I don't want to harp too much on the positives because we know we disappointed ourselves in not winning this game and disappointed our fans who have high expectations," he said. "I know they did for yesterday's game, so we're not going to spend too much time on the positives because we didn't win the game."
