By Glenn Jeffers
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, November 3, 1997; Page C8

CHICAGO, Nov. 2 — It took a mere 16 minutes 26 seconds for Chicago Bears linebacker Bryan Cox to throw his helmet off in disgust over his team's shoddy first-half performance.

It took another 10 minutes for wide receiver Curtis Conway to get into the act. But unfortunately for the Bears, his emotional outburst produced a more serious reaction by the officials.

On third and 10 at Washington's 15-yard line, Redskins cornerback Cris Dishman tugged on Conway's shoulder all the way to the end zone, and Erik Kramer's pass to Conway was incomplete.

Conway wanted a pass interference call. He barked at field judge Don Carey, brushed against him, and threw his helmet off. That outburst resulted in two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, one for the helmet toss and another for making contact with an official.

Conway was ejected from the game and the Bears were penalized 30 yards, taking them out of field goal range and erasing their best scoring opportunity in the first half.

"The penalty was obviously pass interference. Anybody watching the game could see that," Bears Coach Dave Wannstedt said. "But you can't touch an official and [Carey] said [Conway] put his hands on him."

All in all, it was a frustrating day for the Bears, whose 31-8 loss to the Washington Redskins dropped them to 1-8. Not only did they lose their best receiver in Conway, they also lost defensive end John Thierry, who tore a ligament in his left knee and is out for the season, and receiver Chris Penn, who suffered a concussion.

"I really thought that this team would come out from the get-go and give more effort," Wannstedt said.

If giving up three touchdowns on its first three defensive possessions wasn't the turning point for Chicago, then it was Conway's ejection.

Entering the game, things looked to be on the upswing for the Bears, who won their first game of the season last Monday in a 36-33 overtime thiller at Miami.

"Guys were pumped for this game," tailback Raymont Harris said. "They wanted to get back on this field. But the first half totally threw our guys off."

Not surprisingly, it was Cox who supported and defended Conway, who left Soldier Field before the game ended. Cox said Conway stood up for himself and his team against an unfair call.

"I understand," Cox said. "He said how he was upset that he let us down. I told him, 'You didn't let me down. You stood up for yourself. You stood up for what you believe in.' "

But Conway's outburst summed up what has been a disastrous year for the Bears. They have lost three games by three points or fewer. The other five losses have been by margins of 14, 25, 28, 24 and 23 points.

"When you get whipped like this, the frustration's going to rise," Cox said. "But I'm beyond that now."

Apparently, some of his teammates are not. In the third quarter, guard Todd Burger argued with punt returner Tyrone Hughes, shoving him and yelling. Earlier, Hughes had fumbled a punt that was recovered by the Redskins' Darryl Pounds, leading to a field goal.

"Tyrone has to understand that you just can't do that," Harris said.

Tensions are high at Soldier Field. Chicago has seven more games and has to face Minnesota (7-2), Tampa Bay (6-3) and the New York Jets (6-3). Wannstedt said the Bears showed up "hoping Washington was not ready to play," but Cox said the team is mentally prepared to finish 8-8.

"We didn't quit today," Cox said. "we just got our [butts] kicked."