Four days after their 20-10 loss to the Lions in Detroit, the Bears return to the practice field Wednesday to begin preparing for Sunday's home finale against the Cleveland Browns.
The Bears (4-10) have dropped six of their last seven games. They were plagued by a stagnant offense and a slew of costly penalties last weekend at Ford Field, falling behind the Lions 13-0 in the second quarter and 20-3 early in the second half.
Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky tucks the ball and runs against the Bengals.
The Browns (0-14) are the NFL's last winless team. They also started 0-14 last year and recorded their only victory of the season on Christmas Eve, by the score of 20-17, over the San Diego Chargers. Cleveland has lost 32 of its last 33 games dating back to 2015, the worst 33-game stretch in league history.
The Browns are led by rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer, who ranks last in the NFL among 35 qualifiers with a 59.4 passer rating. The second-round pick from Notre Dame has completed 53.9 percent of his passes for 2,398 yards with nine touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
The Bears trail the all-time series with the Browns 9-6 but have won two straight. The Bears won the last meeting 38-31 on Dec. 15, 2013 in Cleveland. After missing four games with a high ankle sprain, Jay Cutler returned to action and completed 22 of 31 passed for 265 yards and three TDs. The final two touchdowns came on passes of 45 yards to Alshon Jeffery and four yards to Earl Bennett and helped the Bears erase a 24-17 fourth-quarter deficit.
Entering Week 16 the Bears rank 30th in offense (11th rushing and 31st passing) and 8th in defense (11th against the run and 10th versus the pass). The Browns rank 26th in offense (17th rushing and 26th passing) and 16th in defense (7th against the run and 21st versus the pass).
ChicagoBears.com will provide all the latest news throughout the week from Halas Hall. Coach John Fox will address the media Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains will be available Wednesday, while defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and special-teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers will speak Thursday.
