Bears coach Lovie Smith on Monday admitted he should have challenged the officials' ruling on Jay Cutler's goal-line sneak in Sunday's 17-14 loss to the Redskins.

In the third quarter on first-and-goal from the 1, Cutler stretched his arms toward the end zone and appeared to possibly break the plane with the ball before getting thrown down by Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Cutler fumbled as Haynesworth took him down, allowing linebacker London Fletcher to recover the fumble and turn over the possession.

The Bears, who had lost a challenge on Earl Bennett's catch on the previous play, did not throw the red flag after Cutler's play.

Smith blamed himself for not throwing the flag.

"There's a lot of things that I would like to do differently," Smith said. "You guys want to know on whether I should have thrown the red flag down by the end zone. Yes, I should have.

"Of course, in hindsight, normally when there's a critical situation, I throw it whether I have a good look or not. Didn't have a great look on it. I understand the reasons why, but that was a critical play in the game. I need to be able to make that call."

Smith said having used a challenge on the play before, along with the belief that his team was in control of the game, contributed to his decision not to challenge the Cutler play. Smith also was confident in his defense shutting down the Redskins and getting the ball back quickly.

Along with the fumble, Cutler threw four interceptions. Matt Forte also fumbled once. Smith said everyone shared the blame.

"Whenever you turned the ball over that many times, it's tough to win," Smith said.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

I will say this for Lovie,the fact that this Bears team with it's terrible offense is 4-3 is a miracle. Lovie has done a lot with a little in his time here. His nemises is his in-game management. I have been a supporter of his,but that might be "The Turk" knocking on his door.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Lovie will not be fired until the labor issues are resolved. If there is even a hint of a strike, they would rather pay Lovie than pay Lovie AND another coach to sit and do nothing.

I really believe the move to make is giving Parcells a boatload of money to come in as a consultant to evaluate both the on field talent and the management.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.