THEWEEK THATWAS

Some weeks are better than others for the Bears:

Goodweek

After the 29- 7 debacle Sunday against the Buccaneers, this took some work. Surely, the bus driver got the Bears to Raymond James Stadium safely. Players tied their cleats without incident.

Beyond that? Let’s go with Pernell McPhee, who popped the ball out of Charles Sims’ arms for the Bears’ first takeaway of the season. McPhee is rounding back into football shape. One week after playing only four snaps, he appeared in 24.

Badweek

One week after dropping a potential game- winner, Jordan Howard had nine carries for seven yards.

The Bears declared themselves a run- first team before the season, but Howard has yet to look like the centerpiece. His 2.7 yards per carry rank 40th in the NFL. After finishing second in rushing yards last year, his 59 are tied for 39th. Two NFL running backs have posted more yards on one play.

The Bears’ banged- up offensive line— which was minus guards Kyle Long, Josh Sitton and TomCompton by the end of the game— deserves some blame. The Bears’ 20 rushing yards were their lowest total since Marc Trestman’s pass- happy Thanksgiving loss to the Lions in 2014, when the Bears had 13.

“I definitely think we can still get back to that,” Howard said. “Last game, we just got down by a lot, so you can’t really run the ball then. I feel like we still can have that type of season.”

Worseweek

Talk about a perception swing: Last week, Mike Glennon was one drop away from beating the defending NFC champions. On Sunday, he was a mess. As concerning as his three turnovers was where he made them— at the Bucs’ 16, at the Bears’ 35 and at midfield.