Bears seek first win, look to end skid against Lions

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) - The Chicago Bears have not won a game this season, and they have not beaten the Detroit Lions since 2012.

One victory would end two slides.

Chicago is 0-3 for the second time in as many seasons under coach John Fox and would match its worst start since 2000 with a loss Sunday against Detroit. The last time the Bears beat the Lions (1-2) was when they took both games in 2012.

“I don’t care about winning right now,” linebacker Willie Young said. “It’s just about doing the best that I can as Willie Young to lead by example regardless of the adversity. You might see me smiling. I’m not accepting losing by no means.”

While Young seems more concerned about the team maintaining the right approach, the fact is the Bears are in a difficult spot. They’ve been dealing with injuries and poor play in just about every area. They might have to get by without quarterback Jay Cutler again after he sat out last week’s game against Dallas because of a sprained right thumb.

And they’re staring at a line of tough opposing quarterbacks after what initially looked like a lighter stretch in the schedule.

The Bears could not beat Brock Osweiler or a pair of rookies in Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott while losing to Houston, Philadelphia and Dallas.

Things aren’t getting easier, with Detroit’s Matthew Stafford third in the league in passing. The Bears then visit Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, and after a home game against Jacksonville, they get Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 20 before facing Sam Bradford and the Vikings at home on Halloween.

Detroit, meanwhile, is trying to a bounce back from a 34-27 loss to Green Bay that saw the Packers burn the secondary for some big plays while building a big lead. The Lions also wasted a career performance from receiver Marvin Jones, who had a personal-best 205 yards and two touchdowns. He could be in for another big game going against a shaky and short-handed defense.

Here are some things to know about the Lions-Bears matchup:

HURTING: While the Bears have nine players on injured reserve and two on the physically unable to perform list, the Lions could be without two key defensive players in lineman Ezekiel Ansah (left ankle) and linebacker DeAndre Levy (quadriceps). Ansah missed last week’s game, while Levy has sat out the past two.

“There’s always a challenge when you don’t have two really good players out there,” Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “But, we go into everything trying to take away the best thing that the other team does. I don’t know if it’s a big thing in terms of a challenge of the game plan, I think it’s a challenge in how we’ve been doing it. We have to do what we’re doing better, and we have to just try to execute better.”

BEHIND CENTER: With Cutler hurt, Brian Hoyer said this week he was practicing as if he was going to start again.

“Until someone tells me different I’m just preparing like I’m going to play, and that’s if he was playing I would prepare the same way,” said Hoyer, who threw for 317 yards last week .

STREAK: Chicago is one of the few teams the Lions have had an extended period of success against. One thing about the streak: five of the six wins were by single digits.

“Every game is different, especially every year, year to year,” Stafford said. “In order to win on the road or even at home, you have to go out there and execute and play well. We’ve done that the last few times we’ve played these guys.”

RUNNING STRUGGLES: The running game was a concern for Detroit coming into the season, and an injury to Ameer Abdullah (left foot) has limited the options for the Lions. Theo Riddick had a promising season opener but had only 9 yards on 10 carries last weekend against Green Bay. Rookie Dwayne Washington ran 10 times last week.

HELLO AGAIN: Running back Joique Bell signed with Chicago on Tuesday, just in time to see his old team again.

Bell was released by the Lions in February and worked out for them last week with Abdullah going on injured reserve. But general manager Bob Quinn passed. The Bears - down a few running backs - did not.

Bell had nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage in 2013 and 2014. But his role diminished last season because of injuries as well as the emergence of Abdullah as a rookie, along with Riddick’s as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield.

Chicago was looking for help in the backfield because of injuries to Jeremy Langford (ankle) and Ka’Deem Carey (hamstring).

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