After a game in which the Bears were penalized 14 times for 101 yards, they weren’t in a position to complain much about the officiating.
But two plays that left the Bears scratching their helmets and biting their tongues played pivotal roles in their loss.
With Minnesota leading 7-6 in the second quarter, the Bears faced third-and-8 from their 18-yard line. Rex Grossman threw to David Terrell over the middle, and Terrance Shaw was called for pass interference, giving the Bears a first down.
But after conferring, the officials picked up the flag because they said the ball had been tipped at the line of scrimmage. The tip was not apparent on replays. The Bears punted, and the Vikings drove for a field goal that gave them a 10-6 lead.
“I’ll just say that’s the call they made,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “Very seldom do you see an official change a call. Really, when you start screaming at them, it’s making you feel better, but it’s not going to change much.”
After the Bears pulled within 20-15 with 6 minutes 20 seconds left, they opted for a two-point conversion attempt. Vikings end Kenny Mixon jumped early and was in the Bears’ backfield when the ball was snapped, but no flag was thrown. Grossman’s pass fell incomplete.
“You mean the guy who jumped in my lap?” Bears tackle John Tait said. “I don’t want to get fined, but I was expecting a flag.”
“I was asking a few questions,” Smith said of his day with the officials. “I saw it differently a few times. The officials never lose a game. There were things we didn’t like that they should have called. Let’s leave it at that.”
The Bears had more penalties Sunday than they had in the first two games, with nine in the loss to Detroit and two in the victory over Green Bay. And defensive end Adewale Ogunleye doesn’t buy the idea the penalties were the product of aggressiveness.
“Sometimes it might be aggressiveness, some of it might be that we’re a young team, some of it might be we’re not at home,” he said. “One time they get a pass-interference call, and they pick the flag up. When you’re not home, you have to play smart ball, and we didn’t do that.”
