Bears Suffering Early Hibernation : Interconference: Cincinnati deals Chicago its fifth loss in six games, nearly ending any Bear playoff hopes.

The mistake-prone Chicago Bears sure didn’t look like a playoff team. As a result, they probably won’t become one.

Chicago’s weak pass defense gave up Jeff Blake’s 38-yard touchdown pass and the Bears’ offense stalled for the second consecutive week as the Cincinnati Bengals held on for a 16-10 victory on a frigid Sunday.

The loss left Chicago (7-7) a longshot to make the playoffs. The Bears have lost five of six and have played their worst offensively the past two weeks.

They became the bumbling Bears on Sunday. They were penalized for calling consecutive timeouts, fumbled at midfield late in the game and had a receiver run a four-yard route on fourth and five to end their final drive.

There were plenty of reasons why the Bears remained winless on the road in December since 1987, a streak that will last until at least next year as they return home for their final two games.

“We’re certainly not playing like a playoff team,” said Erik Kramer, who completed 18 of 36 passes for 196 yards. “We’ve got two games left and now we’ve got to come out and somehow light a fire and see what happens.”

The Bears were eighth in the running for the NFC’s six playoff spots entering the game. Now all they can do is try to win their last two and hope for a lot of help.

The Bengals (6-8) won for only the second time in seven home games by taking advantage of the Bears’ mistakes and beating their weak secondary with a big pass play at the pivotal moment.

The Bengals took control with 10 points in an 83-second span of the third quarter. Doug Pelfrey’s 39-yard field goal made it 9-3, and Todd Sauerbrun’s tipped punt traveled only 14 yards, setting Cincinnati up at the Bears’ 38-yard line.

On the next play, Blake connected with Darnay Scott down the middle of the field on a post pattern. Scott dove and caught the ball, hit the ground at the one and rolled into the end zone untouched by cornerback Kevin Miniefield, putting the Bengals up, 16-3.