The Chicago Bears look to break a five-game losing streak when they host the Detroit Lions in a matchup of struggling teams on Sunday.
The Bears (5-6) are on their worst skid since they dropped five in a row in 2017 - former coach John Fox's final season.
Even when they were 5-1, there were big problems on offense. Lately, a defense that ranked among the top 10 for most of the season hasn't been able to carry them. And last week's blowout by Green Bay was particularly ugly.
Mitchell Trubisky committed three turnovers, the defense gave up four touchdown passes by Aaron Rodgers and the Bears lost 41-25 at Lambeau Field.
Chicago has switched quarterbacks, with Nick Foles replacing Trubisky in a Week 3 comeback at Atlanta. Trubisky returned to the lineup last week with Foles sidelined by a hip and glute injury. In between, Coach Matt Nagy handed play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, but nothing has really worked.
Detroit cleaned house last week, firing general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia following a 41-25 Thanksgiving loss to Houston. The Lions elevated offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to interim coach for the final five games.
Trubisky has three touchdown passes in each of his past four meetings with the Lions. That includes a season-opening 27-23 win in which he threw three TDs in the fourth quarter to rally Chicago from 17 points down.
Chicago's Khalil Mack looked like he was poised to hit double digits in sacks after getting 6 1-2 through the first eight games. With none in the past three, the three-time All-Pro needs to pick up the pace. He has just nine tackles in that span and no quarterback hits.
Mack had 8 1-2 sacks last season after four straight years in double digits. It was his lowest total since he had four as a rookie with Oakland in 2014.
Nagy raised a few eyebrows this week when he challenged the Bears in a way he never had, particularly since much of it was directed at the defense rather than his struggling offense.
Nagy said he is ''extremely close'' with those players and they were also frustrated. He has ''zero concern'' his comments would divide the locker room.
