Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks runs against the Chicago Bears defense. (Credit: David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO (CBS) — As tough as Sunday’s loss was for the Bears, coach Lovie Smith’s team is still tied for first place in their division with pivotal conference games down the final stretch of the season.
Still, a 23-17 OT loss to Seattle–at home against an NFC opponent–still stung on Monday morning when Smith spoke with WBBM Newsradio’s Josh Liss.
“We needed to finish a lot stronger than we did,” Smith said. “It shouldn’t come down to that in a game like that. We had opportunities early and didn’t capitalize.”
The Bears (8-4, tied with Green Bay in the NFC North) gave up two long drives at the end of the game–97 yards late in fourth quarter and 80 yards in OT. They simply didn’t find a way to stop Seahawks rookie quarterback Russell Wilson.
“He made plays late and kept drives going,” Smith said. “He was mobile in the pocket, running the game.”
Now, the Bears’ focus shifts to, in Smith’s words, the “fourth quarter of the season” against division rivals. Three of the four games are against division teams–Minnesota, Green Bay and Detroit.
“If we control everything that happens to us, believe me, we’ll stand up,” Smith said.
“We’ll come back, again it’s one loss,” Smith said. “No one in our division has more wins than we do. We’ll get back on the winning track.”
LISTEN: Lovie Smith Interview With Josh Liss
