LAKE FOREST, Ill. – A shocking discovery was made last Sunday night during the Bears’ lopsided loss to the Dallas Cowboys: Contrary to popular belief, Devin Hester is in fact human.

Second-year pro Devin Hester leads the NFL in punt returns with a 20.6-yard average.

The All-Pro return specialist struggled along with most of his teammates, fumbling twice while returning two punts for one yard and averaging just 17.2 yards on five kickoff returns.

“I’m like everybody else,” said coach Lovie Smith. “I expect something big to happen every time he touches the ball, but it’s not going to happen like that always. The good part about it is he’ll get more opportunities this week, and hopefully he can do something with it.”

Hester admitted that he was trying to do too much against Dallas.

“I came out there and didn’t play a good game,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure playing the Cowboys and there wasn’t a thing clicking on offense, defense or special teams. I kind of went out and tried to overdo it a little too much instead of just letting the game come to me.”

When the Bears visit the Detroit Lions Sunday, Hester hopes to revert to the form he displayed last season as a record-breaking rookie and repeated Sept. 16 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In a 20-10 win, the 2006 second-round pick returned punts 73 yards for a touchdown and 31 yards to set up a field goal and had a 95-yard kickoff return TD wiped out by a penalty. 

“We’re practicing hard this week hoping that we can fix all our mistakes and get ready for this weekend,” Hester said Friday. “The most important thing is just being patient. Don’t try to put too much upon yourself; just go out and play your game and go with the flow.”

Turnover time: The Bears enter Sunday’s game in Detroit leading the NFL with 11 giveaways on six interceptions and five lost fumbles. With just five takeaways, Chicago ranks 31st in the league with a minus-six turnover ratio.

“If you ask me to talk about one area that I think we need to improve in order to win, it would be that,” said Smith, whose team led the NFL with 44 takeaways in 2006.

“It’s turnover ratio. Normally that’s what tells you whether a team wins or loses. We haven’t gotten the takeaways that we normally get and we’ve turned the ball over too many times.”

Health update: While the Bears have been plagued by injuries, cornerback Nate Vasher (groin) was the only player listed as doubtful on the injury report Friday.

Safety Adam Archuleta (hand), linebacker Lance Briggs (hamstring), guard Ruben Brown (ankle), tackle Fred Miller (knee), defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) and cornerback Charles Tillman (ankle) are questionable.

Briggs, Tillman and Vasher did not practice Friday, while Archuleta, Brown, Miller and Harris were limited. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher (back) was listed as probable and held out of the workout, but he will start Sunday’s game against the Lions.

Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye (hip), running back Adrian Peterson (calf) and defensive tackle Darwin Walker (knee) all were listed as probable and practiced without restrictions.

Slippery fingers: Receivers coach Darryl Drake blames a handful of dropped passes on a lack of concentration. Muhsin Muhammad failed to haul in a catchable ball against the Chiefs and Bernard Berrian dropped one pass and had two others batted out of his hands versus Dallas.

“Sometimes it’s just guys going out there trying to do too much too hard,” Drake said. “That’s what happens on most of the drops. I understand that it’s in the context of the game and everything is happening, but what it does is it forces you to reaffirm your focus out there. It just can’t happen, especially when you’re struggling.”

On two of the plays, Berrian failed to hang onto the ball after being drilled by defenders.

“It’s like I told him,” Drake said. “You know the guy is behind you, so catch it and then tuck it away. You know you’re going to get hit. Things just happened so quickly, but he should make those catches.”