Not that Rex Grossman needed to see how badly his Bears teammates hurt Sunday, but there was no avoiding the pain in his path off Soldier Field.
Running back Thomas Jones bent over to slap the ground twice. Wide receiver David Terrell clutched his mask and shook his head. Others on the offense just buried theirs.
Grossman jogged slowly and dejectedly past all of them after safety Bracy Walker’s interception in the end zone with 18 seconds left clinched Detroit’s 20-16 victory in the season opener. A pat on the back from coach Lovie Smith provided little consolation for a competitor as fierce as Grossman appears.
“One boneheaded mistake cost us the game,” Grossman said.
The play for which Grossman took responsibility for came with 28 seconds left and the Bears facing third-and-goal from the Detroit 12. Out of the shotgun, Grossman rolled right to pull the coverage with him and planned to stop and throw to Terrell in the left corner.
Terrell, who had the most productive day of his career with five catches for 126 yards, had drawn double coverage. Grossman hesitated. “I should have thrown it away, but I didn’t,” Grossman said.
Instead, he danced in the pocket and floated a pass that Terrell had no chance of catching. Walker intercepted the ball and interfered with the Bears’ plans to make Smith’s head-coaching debut a success.
“If anybody’s going to take responsibility for the loss, it’s me,” Smith said.
The Bears had taken a 7-3 lead at halftime thanks to a stingy defense and a short passing attack that picked its spots. Jones carried 21 times for 67 yards and two touchdowns, but his average of 3.2 yards per carry was half his preseason mark.
Detroit’s pass rush harried Grossman all afternoon, sacking him three times and knocking him down after throws more than the Bears would prefer. He finished 16 of 35 for 227 yards with two interceptions and immeasurable frustration.
“This is how I see it. We had a chance to win it,” Smith said of his head coaching debut. “I like all the decisions we made at the end. We need to make a play there at the end. Next time, we’ll close the deal.”
