Preview or warning? Tough to tell

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- It was like a game of hot potato that just seemed to get out of hand. Passes were batted off helmets, knocked in the air volleyball-style and ultimately placed perfectly into the waiting hands of Asante Samuel, whose three receptions matched Muhsin Muhammad for second-most from Rex Grossman behind Bernard Berrian's five.

Sadly, Samuel plays for the Patriots -- and he should have matched Berrian, according to New England safety Artrell Hawkins.

''Man, I could have had six,'' Samuel said. ''I dropped a couple.''

Indeed, it was hard what to make of the Bears' 17-13 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, their second loss of the season and their second against an AFC opponent. The game had a playoff-type atmosphere to a certain extent. It was an old-fashioned, bare-knuckle slugfest that could be seen as a future Super Bowl matchup.

''We played a great football team tonight, and it would be a dream come true to play them again,'' Grossman said.

Or maybe it's more of a cautionary tale about what could and might happen to the Bears against a legitimate playoff opponent. The Bears have a formula for victory that includes protecting the ball, but they have been very generous with it on too many occasions. Grossman, obviously, is the main culprit. With three interceptions and a lost fumble in the red zone Sunday, he now has three games this year in which he personally has committed at least four turnovers. He made six at Arizona on four interceptions and two lost fumbles.

To put those numbers in perspective, consider that only four times this season has a team made six turnovers in a game. The Bears have done it twice.

Grossman sometimes simply throws the ball up for grabs. Once in a while that's not a bad decision, and the Bears will make a play or get a call. But when bad things happen, it's awfully tough for any team to overcome. When they happen in bunches, it portends playoff disaster.

The alternative isn't much better. Reverting to a game plan of running the ball, avoiding mistakes and hoping the defense has enough to scrape by seems like a major step backwards. Where has it gotten the Bears in the past?

Offensive tackle Fred Miller said Grossman's ability in the vertical game is what opened up running lanes against a Patriots defense that entered the game No. 2 against the run. With Thomas Jones gaining 99 yards on 23 carries (4.3 average) and Cedric Benson enjoying his most impressive day as a Bear by running with real authority for 46 yards on 10 carries (4.6), the Bears became just the third team this year to break the 100-yard barrier against New England.

''They were playing the give-and-take game with us,'' Miller said. ''They were trying to play the deep ball, and that gave us room to run. Rex definitely opens up the running game. He throws one of the best deep balls in the game right now, and you have to respect that.''

The Bears are at an interesting crossroads in their season. Do they change their philosophy and tone things down a bit, or do they press their advantage and try to get better? They host Minnesota next week with a chance to seal up the NFC North. They then could seal up home-field advantage in the NFC as early as the following week.

Fun as it might be to think of an NFL game as a hot-potato showdown, the simple fact is that every Sunday is fraught with danger. The Patriots lost Junior Seau to a broken arm Sunday. Right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan also left the game with a neck injury. Bears safety Todd Johnson, the replacement starter for Mike Brown, left the game in the second quarter with a foot problem and never returned. In fact, he left the stadium in a walking cast. Reserve linebacker Leon Joe went down with a hamstring.

Injuries are a way of life in the NFL, but the wrong one at the wrong time could spell disaster for any team, even one like the Bears with a seeming cakewalk to the NFC title game. Consider some of the narrow escapes on Sunday. Brian Urlacher came out for one play. It turned out he just got his wind knocked out. But the Patriots converted a first down anyway without him.

Grossman lost feeling in his hand briefly after getting stomped in the pile after losing the ball on a center exchange. Left tackle John Tait limped to the sideline and headed to the locker room before halftime in order to get his left ankle retaped.

''Injuries are a part of the game,'' Miller said. ''The goal is to get homefield through the playoffs and if we can do that, then we can kind of call the dogs back and try to get some guys some experience.''

It's a nice idea, going into the playoffs with a healthy team. But isn't it better to go in with momentum? The old rest vs. rust argument probably is a good problem to have. But it's still a problem.

The Bears didn't lose any momentum with a loss at New England. Still, they did a slow burn during the postgame session as Grossman, Urlacher and even coach Lovie Smith all seemed to strain to control their emotions after a difficult loss.

A great season has created expectations that eventually might prove unrealistic.

If that's the case, then the whole city will be doing a slow burn.