Turnover costly as Bucs fall to Bears It began as a lovely homecoming of sorts for Lovie Smith and Josh McCown at Soldier Field on Sunday, with such an outpouring of warmth that temperatures even rose to a relative balmy 54 degrees at kickoff. Former teammates hugged. Relatives reunited. "That's always a good thing, when you get to see people you love, man," McCown said. As with most reunions, gifts were exchanged. Unfortunately for the Bucs, they gave more than they received. Despite a dominant first half in which the defense shut out the Bears and allowed only 68 total yards, the Bucs blew a 10-point lead thanks to four turnovers, three of them in the third quarter. McCown, who played for the Bears last season, lost a fumble and threw an interception on a deflected pass, allowing Chicago to travel only 13 and 15 yards for touchdowns in a 21-13 loss to his former team. The Bucs (2-9) still had a chance to tie with the ball at the Bears 45 and 3:04 to play. But after a 9-yard pass on first down and an incompletion on second and 1, they ran twice and couldn't advance the football 3 feet. McCown's hurried quarterback sneak on fourth and 1 fell inches short. "I really wasn't into family reunions or anything like that," Smith said. "I have lifetime friends here. Don't really need a game to see them. We won a lot of games here at Soldier Field. Lot of great memories, but this is a bad memory right now." The Bears (5-6), who dismissed Smith after nine seasons following a 10-6 record in 2012, played the style of football they were known for under his direction. The defense kept constant pressure on McCown, who passed for 341 yards and a touchdown to Mike Evans but was sacked five times, lost a fumble and was intercepted twice, though that number easily could have been higher. The game was played in a steady rain, causing McCown to lose his grip on some of his season-high 48 passing attempts. Even so, receivers Vincent Jackson (117 yards) and Louis Murphy (113 yards) had big days. "Obviously, when you get into this weather, it's not optimal throwing conditions," McCown said. "But you've got to kind of manage it the best that you can. Depending on what kind of ball you get when it's snapped, it kind of dictates whether you can take a shot downfield or not. It's tough." The Bucs were driving for a score late in the third quarter when Jackson fumbled inside the 10-yard line, the third turnover of the quarter. The call was upheld after a replay review. "I looked at it. Obviously, it's bang-bang," Jackson said of the replay. "It looked like my elbow was down. Everybody thought upstairs as well, from what I heard on the sidelines, they thought it was going to be overturned. … I just want to obviously not even put our team in that situation and just try to lock it up secure." The Bucs defense did its part. Gerald McCoy sacked Jay Cutler, causing a fumble that was recovered by fellow defensive tackle Clinton McDonald at the Chicago 46-late in the first quarter. That set up the Bucs' only touchdown, a 19-yard pass from McCown to Evans, the rookie receiver's sixth in the past four games. Patrick Murray added a 32-yard field goal with four seconds left in the first half. But all the momentum was lost in the third quarter. After a three-and-out by the Bucs to open the half, the Bears went 58 yards in six plays, capped by Cutler's 2-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery. Then the wheels really came off. McCown rolled to his left and lost sight of Bears defensive end David Bass, who stripped him of the football. The Bears recovered at the Tampa Bay 13, and running back Matt Forte scored one play later to give the Bears a 14-10 lead. On the next series, McCown's pass to running back Charles Sims was high and deflected off the rookie's hands, resulting in an interception by safety Ryan Mundy at the Tampa Bay 15. Forte scored again four plays later. "The one I was most disappointed in was the fumble on the scramble. I've got to throw the ball away. I was trying to make something happen there," McCown said. After the game, Smith told his defense that it needed to do a better job of at least forcing field goals after turnovers. "Who cares where they get the ball?" McCoy said. "The great defenses are made with getting stops in the red zone and forcing them to kick field goals. We didn't do that." As Smith left the field, some Bears fans leaned over the railing and yelled, "We love you, Lovie." Eyes straight ahead, he kept walking.