Hungry for seconds

FOXBOROUGH -- The Chicago Bears' defense was probably their worst enemy yesterday. It played too well.

As fast and lethal as a malicious rumor, the Bears were a constant thud to the Patriots, burnishing their ferocious reputation by forcing five turnovers: two interceptions and three fumbles.

Unfortunately for Chicago, those coups merely allowed the offense to be exposed for what it is: as maddeningly unreliable as the car you figured wouldn't need antifreeze on that sunny day just before the year's first snowfall. That's what doomed the Bears in a 17-13 loss to New England at Gillette Stadium in an interconference showdown that was tougher than barnacles.

"You can't win with four turnovers; it's as simple as that," said Bears coach Lovie Smith.

He wasn't alluding to the Patriots' proclivity for losing possession. He was condemning his team's knack for doing likewise, except in more killing circumstances. The Bears offense sabotaged the defense's handiwork by bequeathing the ball to the Patriots four times: three interceptions and a fumble, all the transgressions courtesy of flammable quarterback Rex Grossman.

The fumble and one interception terminated Chicago drives inside the New England 10. The fumble was a two-headed monster because it gave the Patriots the impetus for their first touchdown drive, transferring the sting the Bears had been applying until that point.

"It was real frustrating," said wide receiver Bernard Berrian, whose five catches for 104 yards -- all in the first half -- basically went for naught. "The defense was doing its job, getting the ball back for us. We were making mistakes, giving it right back. So it evened out, like we were wasting the takeaways."

Grossman, the most profligate of the Chicago philanthropists, was as off target in his assessment as he had been under center -- and that was extreme, considering that he hit only 15 of 34 passes for 176 yards, including just 3 of 11 for 19 yards in the second half.

"They're a great team and they have a great defense," he said. "But we moved the ball pretty well. We couldn't finish drives."

Oh, they could finish drives, all right. Prematurely.

Grossman's major felony occurred 48 seconds into the second quarter with the Bears poised to take the lead. On third and goal from the 5, he bobbled the snap from center Olin Kreutz, and Richard Seymour, who had a vulturish game, pounced on the ball as it skipped from Grossman's desperate clutches.

Asked what had gone wrong on the play, Grossman replied, "You mean the center-quarterback exchange? It was a center-quarterback exchange fumble, and that's as much as I'm going to say about it."

Perhaps it had something to do with the center-quarterback exchange.

With 2:28 left in the third quarter, Grossman struck again. He floated a pass to Muhsin Muhammad at the New England 7 that wound up in the giddy embrace of his bete noir, Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel, owner of all three interceptions. And with the Bears having one last chance after Alex Brown recovered a Corey Dillon fumble at the Chicago 22, Grossman squandered the one-on-one matchup he'd desired and found Samuel instead of his own man, Rashied Davis , at the New England 38.

Smith seemed almost defensive on the subject of Grossman -- specifically, how long the Bears could afford to throw him out there.

"We didn't complete the job," he said. "But Rex Grossman is our quarterback. We're 9-2 with Rex Grossman leading us."

That's the problem. The Bears were eminently impressive yesterday, reinforcing their status as the best team in the NFC. But they know that's like being the star of the junior varsity, and they realize respect may have to come in the form of revenge.

"We lost the game and we're still 9-2," insisted Kreutz. "All our goals are still right there. We're No. 1 in the NFC. We're still No. 1 in the NFC North."

All true. And all hollow. Unless the Bears can prove themselves against the supposedly superior conference, the AFC. They'd welcome the challenge, because there's only one way they can reach it.

"I'd love another shot at the Patriots," said linebacker Brian Urlacher, "because it would mean we're in the Super Bowl."

Grossman, in serious need of redemption, was more emphatic.

"It would be a dream come true," he said, "to play them again this season."

Dream? Or delirium?

Bob Duffy can be reached at Duffy@globe.com.