No picture. Nothing fun. Let’s get right to the thoughts…

• Don’t blame the defense for this one. The Bears should never lose a game at home wherein they allow 20 points in regulation.
• Jay Cutler was exhausting and terrible, I don’t care how many yards and touchdown passes he throws. (1) The interception to Kevin Williams is inexcusable. You don’t throw a pass halfway across the field, across your body, into traffic, when you need ONE YARD! You simply don’t do it if you’re a championship level quarterback. (2) The way he managed the end of regulation was deplorable. Why on 2nd and 1 from the Buffalo 19 is he throwing jump balls to covered receivers? Move the ball closer. Get the clock stopped. Give yourself three solid chances in the end zone. Instead he played like there was a twenty-five foot stone wall erected at the Bills 19. (3) He should have had 2-3 more interceptions over the course of the game.

• The Bears suffered no injuries outside of Cutler to the offense a year ago. Yesterday they made up for it.
• What we learned yesterday is something I’ve warned fans about for some time. When Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall are not both on the field, the Bears offense has the potential to look pedestrian. If Alshon’s hamstring injury is serious the Bears are in serious trouble Sunday night in San Francisco. (They’re in trouble anyway.)
• The mistakes the offense made was eminently correctable. Marshall’s fumble, Martellus not turning on a route, Jay’s decisions making…etc. But losing this game, with the schedule that awaits, will come back to haunt the Bears.
• Willie Young was terrific. He still looks like he’s twice the size of everyone else on the field.
• Martellus Bennett was terrific.
• Matt Forte was terrific. But the Bears need to start putting these one-yard scenarios in his hands, not Cutler’s. Give the guy a chance to get the yard either on a designed screen or pitch or whatever. Forte’s the offense’s most versatile weapon. Use him.
• We all have to accept Chris Conte for what he is: a decent pass defender with no hope of making an open field tackle in run support.
• Did the Bears dress a defensive tackle yesterday?
• There would be reason to get upset over Micheal Spurlock dropping passes if, you know, there was any reason for him to be on the field.
• E.J. Manuel threw some terrible passes but his receivers played beautifully yesterday. Woods and Williams caught absolutely everything. The Bears better get more out of Allen and Houston in the next few weeks or they’ll start 0-4.
• Pat O’Donnell is a much better directional punter than I had given him credit for. He did a nice job pinning return men to the sideline.

Overall, the Bears let a game they needed to win and had no excuse losing get away. With the ball at the Buffalo 34 in the fourth quarter, the Bears should have been charging to take control. Instead their quarterback threw the football to a defensive lineman. Now the pressure will mount on the whole of the organization as they head to San Francisco for the most difficult game on their schedule. How will they respond?