Bears LB hurt again

Bears linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa might feel as if he is trapped in a scene of "Groundhog Day."

Tinoisamoa left Sunday's game at Atlanta with a knee injury and did not return. Bears coach Lovie Smith did not elaborate on Tinoisamoa's injury after the game, but a torn posterior cruciate ligament kept the strong-side linebacker out of action for three weeks earlier this season.

"We've gone through injuries before," Smith said after the game. "It's 'next guy up.' I thought Jamar Williams stepped in and did a decent job for him. Again, Pisa's a good football player, but we haven't played with him a lot yet."

Tinoisamoa had three tackles and forced a fumble before he left the game. He joined the Bears this spring after leading the St. Louis Rams in tackles last season.

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The Bears coughed up 65 yards in penalties Sunday to go along with two interceptions, a fumble, sporadic lapses on defense and special-teams meltdowns.

No penalty stung worse than a false start by Orlando Pace on 4th and 1 from the Falcons' 5-yard line with 34 seconds to go in the game. Pace's penalty pushed the Bears back to 4th and 6 from the 10-yard line, and Bears quarterback Jay Cutler missed tight end Desmond Clark to turn the ball over on downs and give Atlanta a 21-14 victory.

"We kind of self-desrtructed a little bit there," Smith said.

-Tom Musick