Chicago Sports

The Bears are 3-12. They’ve lost eight games in a row. They’ve been at this since July. Sunday is New Year’s Day, and they still have two games to go.

Ugh? Not quite.

”I’m excited to go,” quarterback Justin Fields said. ”I’m blessed. I have the best job in the world, just getting to do what I love every day and getting to play a sport.”

At this time last year, the Bears’ season couldn’t end soon enough. They were 5-10, and not even an exciting 25-24 victory against the Seahawks and Russell Wilson could pump any joy into a dreadful death march.

Nick Foles, who engineered that upset victory, was not part of the future. And coach Matt Nagy was certain to be gone, as well. As it turned out, general manager Ryan Pace was let go, too.

Fast-forward to this week, and the Bears have a worse record but a brighter outlook. Perhaps only in Chicago could a quarterback of the worst passing attack in the NFL elicit fervent hope for the future. But here we are, emotionally tethered to Fields as the player who gives everyone something to play for.

”I just think there’s so much to look forward to; you can see where this thing’s going,” tight end Cole Kmet said. ”Just the steps we’ve taken from Week 1 to now — and I mean from Day 1 of [organized team activities] to this point. You’ve seen . . . us grow as a team.

”I’m looking forward to it. We’re going to add pieces here, obviously, and continue moving forward with this thing. But I think there’s a lot to be optimistic about.”

Truth be told, it’s not all that much different in the Bears’ locker room in the final two weeks. While the final month of last season was a slog for Bears fans, media and probably a lot of Halas Hall personnel, players are wired to ignore the dread and do their jobs. This season, even optimism isn’t the motivation.

”Not really,” center Sam Mustipher said. ”I don’t want to speak for everybody else, but I want to win football games. I want to put good film out there. I want to help the Bears win a football game. I want to be a part of the best unit in football, speaking of our O-line and our offense. Every week I go into a game, I try to approach it with a winning mindset.”

But what about the bright future?

”I guess in terms of Justin Fields being who he is, [and] from a fan perspective, you’ve got all this cap space,” Mustipher said. ”Guys in here don’t really worry about that. We’ve got a bunch of guys on one-year, prove-it deals, so we’re really focused on doing our job and helping the Bears win a football game.

”I guess for people outside the building it’s a different feeling, something to look forward to. You like the feeling that you have a franchise quarterback, so you look forward to that. But this is our livelihood. This is what we take pride in doing. So it’s never a good feeling for us to be 3-12 with two games left. But it’s two opportunities to put your best foot forward.”

Regardless of the motivation, the Bears aren’t dragging to the finish line this season.

”I feel there’s always something to play for, no matter if we’re 0-15 or 3-12 or 12-3,” Fields said Wednesday. ”My outlook on [the] game [Sunday] and today’s practice is just getting better, growing and learning.

”It’s always good when we get to go up against a division opponent. That atmosphere this weekend should be a pretty good atmosphere, so I know the guys are excited for that.”

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It was clear from the start of Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ tenure that he was prioritizing the 2023 season over the current one, and that made perfect sense. There was little to cling to from the team that careened to 6-11 last season, and it was going to take time to sweep away some of Ryan Pace’s bad decisions.

An ambitious timeline would’ve been for the Bears to absorb the ramifications of salary cap cleanup this season, be legitimately competitive next season and push to contend in 2024. Poles wasn’t in a rush, but that was plausible if everything went right.

Poles and coach Matt Eberflus have always talked about the Bears from a long-term perspective, as though they’ll be running the team for the next decade. That kind of stability would be incredible for the Bears, who went through three head coaches in the nine seasons after firing Lovie Smith, but only if things are going well.

And no owner has limitless patience for a rebuild. Everyone understands what’s happening now, but if the Bears merely hop from this to, say, six wins next season, that’s quite a slow growth rate.

Poles undoubtedly is aiming higher than that for next season, especially after what he’s seen from quarterback Justin Fields. Here are five steps he could take to accelerate this project:

Spend on an elite offensive line

Fields would be well within his rights to demand that Poles upgrade him to a first-class offensive line after everything he has endured the last two seasons. He’s spent most of his young career escaping. It’s a credit to him that he has managed to develop at all.

The Bears need to make life easier on him. While Poles is an o-line afficionado and probably does have a gift for spotting talent that other teams miss, it’s time to simply do it right and pay up for someone like Orlando Brown at left tackle. Rookie Braxton Jones can move to the right side, which has been a tough spot to fill.

The Bears might’ve found the limit on how far Fields can go without sturdy blocking. If they want him to leap into the top tier of NFL quarterbacks, they’ve got to protect him. It’s the single biggest way they can help him.

If the Bears accomplish nothing else, they must fix this problem. They’ll have by far the most salary-cap space in the NFL, and this is the place to spend it.

In the same way that teams with a great quarterback always have a chance, so do teams with great offensive lines. That was essential to the 2017 Eagles, for example, as they won the Super Bowl with quarterbacks who otherwise have been journeymen in Carson Wentz and Nick Foles.

Find a disgruntled wide receiver

The Bears gave up a lot for Chase Claypool, sending a second-round pick that’s currently No. 33 overall, but it’s unlikely they viewed him as the No. 1 wide receiver they needed.

Claypool has been quiet since the trade, but even assuming he returns to how well he played his first two seasons, he’s not at a level where opposing defensive coordinators spend all week losing sleep over how to handle him. Those receivers, like Justin Jefferson or Tyreek Hill, change everything for an offense.

One reason the Bears paid so much for Claypool, though, was because the upcoming free-agent class is thin. The best pending free agents are the Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Patriots’ Jakobi Meyers.

But several top wide receivers were available via trade over the last few years, and if the Bears are willing to part with a first-round pick — whether that’s an extra one they get from trading down this year or a future pick — perhaps they could find a top receiver who wants out or a team that’s ready to head another direction.

It’s hard to predict who that might be. Few, if anyone, expected Davante Adams or A.J. Brown to change teams this year, but both did. Poles needs to be proactive to make sure the Bears are the team taking advantage of those surprises.

That would give the Bears a legitimate receiver group, rounded out by Claypool and Darnell Mooney. That compares well to what the Rams (Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham, Van Jefferson) and Bengals (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd) had when they made it to the Super Bowl last season.

Draft a disruptive pass rusher

Logic says a team with as many needs as the Bears should trade down from the No. 2 pick unless it needs a quarterback. Since the Bears don’t, they should be open for business — as long as they can still get an elite pass rusher.

If they’re picking that high, there’s a good chance a quarterback-hungry team will make a convincing offer. The Seahawks, for example, currently have the Nos. 3 and 12 picks. If that third selection — from the Broncos — slides a little, they could be the trade partner. A 2024 first-rounder would be welcome, too.

The Bears could drop back several spots and still get a top pass rusher like Clemson’s Myles Murphy. Or they could keep the pick and get the best talent in the class: Alabama’s Will Anderson.

Quarterback is the most important position, but pass rusher is next. The Bears are last in the NFL in sacks, averaging barely more than one per game. They get pressure on just 16.5% of their defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference, which is third-worst.

Don’t be afraid of goodbyes

It was one thing for Poles to offload a bunch of players he didn’t acquire, but he needs to be just as clear-eyed about those to whom he is attached. It only compounds a mistake to stick with a player who isn’t producing.

Poles hoped to find a hidden gem with the signings of wide receivers Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown, as well as the trade for N’Keal Harry, but that trio has combined for 32 catches. It’s better to go fishing again and see if the Bears can do better.

The toughest dilemma Poles will face on his own free agents is what to do with running back David Montgomery. He’s an ideal personality in the locker room, he’s only 25 and he’s by far the Bears’ most versatile back because he’s reliable as a runner, receiver and blocker.

Montgomery’s modest rushing production makes it hard to predict how desirable he’ll be in free agency. He has averaged 61.4 yards per game, four per carry and scored 26 touchdowns in four seasons. Some teams might see that and adjust for the fact that he spent his first three seasons in Matt Nagy’s offense and make splashy offers.

Spotrac projects his market value at a three-year, $29.3 million deal. The Bears have too many other pressing needs to spend that kind of money at running back. They’ll be better served moving ahead with Khalil Herbert and adding a cheaper power back in the draft or free agency.

Finalize extensions quickly

Poles already knows he wants to keep Mooney, Claypool and cornerback Jaylon Johnson, so it’s best to get their contract extensions secured early.

All three are valued and play vital positions, and Poles doesn’t need any more contract squabbles like he had with former linebacker Roquan Smith, who was a hold-in deep into the preseason and eventually got his wish to leave when the team traded him to the Ravens.

Imagine that tension playing out this August. But with multiple players, potentially. And leading into a season in which the Bears will have much weightier goals.

All three of those players have performed well enough to seek extensions heading into the last season of their rookie contracts, and Poles should have a sufficient grasp of their abilities after spending this season watching them. These contract negotiations should be straightforward.

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PONTIAC–It was fantastic to see huge crowds at the holiday tournaments all over the state. This week felt like a truly proper return to the pre-COVID levels of attendance.

And the basketball was spectacular. Teams like Lyons and Rolling Meadows quieted doubters and some new schools emerged, Libertyville and Grayslake Central in particular.

Friday’s top games (all tournament championships)

BLOOMINGTON

Sacred Heart-Griffin 57, Romeoville 41: Zack Hawkinson scored 20 and Jake Hamilton added 19 points for SHG. What a solid holiday season for Romeoville though, this experience should be a real shot in the arm for a talented team that is still finding its way. Meyoh Swansey scored 15 and Aaron Brown added 10 points.

CENTRALIA

St. Louis Cardinal Ritter 58, Evanston 52: Another local team loses, but definitely opens some eyes. The Wildkits have lost to a lot of good area teams but are clearly improving. Prince Adams and Jonah Ross made the all-tournament team.

DEKALB

Geneva 43, United 40: The Vikings win the 95th Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic, my new under the radar favorite holiday tournament. It’s the third time Geneva has captured the championship.

EFFINGHAM/TEUTOPOLIS

Lincoln-Way East 56, Teutopolis 38: Ty Toliver scored 23 and the Griffins are 14-1, took care of business over the holidays. Toliver, George Bellevue and Kyle Olagbegi made the all-tournament team.

ELGIN

Shepard 45, Elgin 41: Jermell Lymon scored 18 and Payton Crims added 12 points.

IC CATHOLIC/WESTMONT

IC Catholic 62, Taft 61: That’s nine wins in a row and a title for the Knights. Looks like this was a fun one. Lyle Scibor led Taft with 20 points.

JACOBS

Grayslake Central 56, Crystal Lake South 51: I didn’t see stats for this one but I’m excited to get out and cover the Rams as soon as possible.

MAINE EAST

Niles West 74, Maine East 73 2 OT: A thriller in Park Ridge. Joseph Pantazis scored 24 for the Wolves and Timothy Matthew added 13.

RICH (BIG DIPPER)

Hillcrest 69, Perspectives-Leadership 64: Another massive crowd at the Big Dipper tonight. It’s been great to see all the holiday tournaments rebound stronly this season. Darrion Baker led the Hawks to the title with 24 points and 12 rebounds and Quentin Heady added 24. Jakeem Cole led the Warriors with 28 points. It was a great tournament for Perspectives.

WHEELING

Libertyville 64, Glenbrook North 59: How about the Wildcats? Aidyn Boone had a monster title game with 21 points and 12 rebounds and tournament MVP Will Buchert added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

YORK

Rolling Meadows 56, Lyons 42: Last week Joe Henricksen and I said that Rolling Meadows was the team with the most to prove heading into the holidays. The Mustangs completely delivered, rolling to the championship. Cam Christie bolstered his Player of the Year candidacy with 26 points in the title game. Mark Nikolich-Wilson and Ian Miletic each added 11 points. Nik Polonowski led the Lions with 16. This was Lyons’ first loss of the season. And you could argue no team in the area bolstered its reputation more than the Lions did this week.

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It should have been an easy night, but that’s just not how this Bulls team chooses to operate.

It could be a lack of urgency or a penchant for taking weaker teams for granted. Or maybe this is just what NBA mediocrity looks like.

After planting the flag on their signature victory of the season Wednesday — a come-from-behind overtime triumph against the Bucks — the Bulls chose to spend the first three quarters of their game Friday going back and forth with the nine-win Pistons.

The Pistons were without Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo because of a bench-clearing brawl this week against the Magic and have been missing prized second-year guard Cade Cunningham for most of the season with a stress fracture in his left leg.

Easy pickings on paper? It was for Bulls guard Zach LaVine, at least. He scored 18 points in the first quarter and finished with a season-high 43 in an eventual 132-118 victory.

”You don’t always want to have [these close games],” LaVine said afterward. ”[The Pistons] were making some tough shots, but I think the last four minutes we really locked in and got some good stops.

”On any given night, any one of us can go off for a game like that. You don’t want to count on it, but I think offensively we’re fine each and every game. One of us three or four is capable of having a good game, can carry the offense.”

Now if the Bulls only can find that consistency with their defense.

The Bulls again didn’t show a killer instinct against a lesser opponent, especially defensively. They already have losses to the Magic, Spurs and Thunder on their r?sum? and recently allowed the Timberwolves to score 150 points against them.

Yet they also have a combined 7-1 record against the Heat, Bucks, Celtics and Nets this season.

Head-scratching? Definitely.

Especially after the Bulls outscored the Pistons 33-25 in the first quarter, only to turn around and let them score 33 in the second.

And the Bulls’ response in the third quarter it didn’t exactly resemble that of a team that seemed to be finding itself just before the halfway point of the season.

The Pistons came out in the third quarter and scored another 34 points against the Bulls’ defense.

The Bulls were nursing a three-point lead going into the fourth but finally restored some order. Former Pistons big man Andre Drummond got the Bulls going in the quarter with a nasty dunk on which he was fouled.

After Coby White made a three-pointer with 10:40 left, the Bulls’ lead was up to nine, and it appeared the rout might be on.

Not with these Bulls, however. A three-pointer by Saddiq Bey and layup by Bojan Bogdanovic with 5:32 left enabled the Pistons to tie the score.

But that was when the Bulls took control for good, thanks to DeMar DeRozan. He made a 14-foot jumper, then sank two free throws to spark the decisive push. By the time it was over, the Bulls had gone on an 11-1 run to leave the Pistons behind.

”I think defensively, when we’re all locked in, then we’re going to be good,” LaVine said.

And while it wasn’t pretty, in the big picture, the Bulls now have won five of their last six games.

”I thought we finished well,” coach Billy Donovan said. ”I think the rebounding and the fouling was something we can be better at.”

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The Chicago Bears ruled one player out for New Year’s Day

The Chicago Bears had several players battling injuries this week. The Bears were seeing some progress from wide receivers Chase Claypool and Equanimeous St. Brown this week, as they returned to practice Thursday. On Friday, the Bears ruled one offensive lineman out.

According to the Bears’ injury report, offensive guard Ja’Tyre Carter has been ruled out against the Lions. He’s dealing with a back injury. They listed linebacker Sterling Weatherford out as well. Claypool, St. Brown, and tight end Trevon Wesco are questionable for Sunday.

Good news for the Bears, offensive guards Teven Jenkins and Cody Whitehair do not have an injury designation for Sunday. They are expected to play against the Lions this week. The Bears will have better pass protection against the Lions than the group who were healthy enough to be put on the field for an NFL game on Christmas against the Buffalo Bills.

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The Bears’ defense has been in a season-long funk where every little mistake is costly. But against the Bills last week, rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon made one misplay right.

Gordon’s interception of quarterback Josh Allen at the goal line and 36-yard return momentarily took the Bears out of trouble in the second quarter, and was a stroke of good fortune. The Bears didn’t pay for a mistake.

“I’m not gonna tell you were were all in the right coverage there. But sometimes you do the wrong thing [and] you stumble into something,” defensive coordinator Alan Williams said. “He dropped at the right angle that he thought he should and the quarterback threw the ball and sometimes when you’re not paint-by-numbers, you can be in the right place.”

After a typical season of rookie trials, Gordon seems like he’s in the right place at the right time — reaping the rewards of some hard lessons learned earlier in the season as a slot cornerback and ready to finish his first NFL season with momentum heading into 2023. The interception against the Bills was his third of the season and his second in as many games.

“I’m slowly but surely [improving] and just elevating my game since Day 1,” Gordon said. “I feel like the trajectory is going up.”

Indeed, Gordon is in a comfort zone on multiple levels — benefitting from 13 games of NFL experience, but also at his more familiar position of outside cornerback. With Kindle Vildor on injured reserve, undrafted rookie Josh Blackwell has excelled in the slot, allowing Gordon to play outside.

“A lot of people say the same thing, [that] I look relaxed. That’s how I feel,” said Gordon, a second-round draft pick (39th overall) from Washington. “I’m comfortable all over the field. I’m just doing my job — recognizing the formations, pre-determining what I can get; going through my checks in my head; and just reading stuff. Everything is slower for me.”

It’s that kind of comfort that helped put Gordon in position to make plays, like the interception against the Bills.

“Me knowing my stuff and where I can put my eyes and understanding what I can get from the offense based off a formation,” Gordon said. “I’m able to put my eyes in a place where I know the ball’s potentially going to be. I’ve already got my antennas up and I’m alert for something. There’s a higher probability for me to make a play if they put the ball in the area.”

The Bears’ defense has struggled through much of the season — with the implementation of a new scheme under Matt Eberflus and Williams, the departure of linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive end Robert Quinn at midseason, five Week 1 starters out of the lineup and seven rookies combining for 43 starts and 3,034 snaps. The Bears are 31st in the NFL in points, 24th in yards allowed and 30th in yards allowed per play.

Both the growth of players such as Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker — also a second-round draft pick (48th overall) — provides hope that improvement in 2023 is possible.

“It’s a process of feeling comfortable,” Williams said. “Each week you see [Gordon] getting a little bit better. In the NFL it’s a game of inches, so if you can get a little bit better each week, you start to become yourself. You stop thinking about, ‘Hey, where am I putting my feet? Where am I putting my eyes?'”

Eventually, Williams said, you transition from thinking to reacting. “Little by little he’s doing that,” Williams said. “Then you see a better product, you see a faster product.”

Playing nickel cornerback has complicated matters for Gordon. “It’s way different being inside,” Gordon said. “Some stuff transfers, but I feel like it’s two different positions. You have to learn different techniques — whether it be gaps or blitzing, the inside type of routes. It’s completely different.”

Moving to outside corner has not only made things easier for Gordon, but he believes the experience at nickel has made him a better outside corner.

“Definitely,” Gordon said. “I’ve played corner my whole life. Going from inside out, I see everything that a nickel does or what he’s gonna get. It’s just more information. It allows me to do more.”

Gordon still has a long way to go, but the Bears are encouraged that he’s showing both the versatility and play-making ability that compelled them to draft him in the second round when they arguably had more important holes to fill on offense.

“It’s going to expand him a little bit more,” Eberflus said. “He’s going to use a different skillset out there [at outside corner]. It’s just going to help him grow.

“He’s got high energy. He’s really good at his fundamentals. His techniques — he’s getting better there. And he’s a ballhawk guy. That’s why we brought him here. He’s proven that and he’s exciting to watch. I’m excited about the last two games for him.”

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Bears quarterback Justin Fields will not be thinking about the No. 1 draft pick when he takes on the Lions on Sunday. While there would be tremendous tangible benefit to the team — and him — in the Bears ending up with that selection, it’s not in his mind.

He’ll be thinking about revenge.

For most of this season, Fields has been the only thing that has given the Bears a chance. The majority of their losses have ended with the depleted defense simply collapsing and letting Fields down at the end.

His defense fell apart against the Lions in a 31-30 loss at Soldier Field last month, too, but Fields was equally responsible for the Bears blowing a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead. He had multiple opportunities to solidify victory, but had two three-and-outs, threw a pick-six and couldn’t get the Bears beyond their own 32-yard line on their final possession.

Faltering at the end tainted what would’ve been one of Fields’ best games. He ran for 147 yards on 13 carries, including a 67-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and completed 12 of 20 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

The 314 combined yards was the fourth-highest of his career, and he had a 140.0 passer rating before that brutal pick to Jeff Okudah from his own 17-yard line. Fields called it “just a dumb play” and vowed it would never happen again. Even with the interception, Fields posted a 99.4.

Why mention all of that? Because the Lions couldn’t stop Fields that day and aren’t any better equipped to do so Sunday. Fields was his own worst enemy in the defeat, and if he steers clear of any self-inflicted debacles, there’s every reason to expect a monster game.

The Lions have a shot at sneaking into the playoffs despite giving up an NFL-worst 26.7 points per game. Their defense isn’t good at anything. They’ve allowed a 97.0 passer rating for the season and 5.1 yards per carry — both third-worst.

The Lions are fresh off giving up 37 points in a loss to the lowly Panthers. With their season on the line, they let Sam Darnold put up a 121.4 passer rating and allowed two 125-yard rushers.

The Bears have so few top players left on defense that it’s hard to see them stopping anyone, but it’s a prime opportunity for Fields to feast. The Lions might score 30 points, but Fields certainly could match that.

It’ll be much easier than the last two weeks, when he went against Super Bowl contenders in the Eagles and Bills. Both of those teams are top-10 in scoring defense and are elite against the pass, and the Eagles lead the NFL in sacks.

Fields had the Bears in the game in the fourth quarter against both of those opponents and, over both games, completed 29 of 44 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 105.4 passer rating. He also averaged 4.8 yards per carry.

That fit with his overall upward trajectory. Fields and the offense were a wreck the first four games, but since then, he has a 96.9 passer rating and the Bears have averaged 22.9 points per game. Those numbers are up from 58.7 and 16, respectively, through Week 4.

Fields was well into finding a groove the first time he played the Lions and seems even more comfortable now, even while playing with patchwork personnel around him. He completed 20 of 25 passes — albeit with two interceptions — and averaged 10.2 yards per pass in the loss to the Packers.

His performances have been imperfect, but promising. For months it has seemed like Fields was on the brink of putting it all together. If that’s really the case, the Lions present an ideal chance to prove it.

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For most of the 2010s, the Bears and Lions were easy to distinguish from each other. The Lions had the long-term answer at quarterback and the Bears had the better roster.

This year has flipped.

The Bears believe they have their quarterback of the future in Justin Fields, while the Lions have a trove of young talent at other positions.

If both teams have proven anything over the last decade-plus, it’s that neither formula is the path to winning when it matters. They’ve combined for one playoff win since 2010.

Which team, though, is better position to change that? It depends on your preferred starting point — but, for the first time in a long time, the answer might be the Lions. Their rebuild is farther along than that of the Bears, and it’s been done with care. Entering Sunday’s game at Ford Field, the Lions have four more wins and countless better, healthy, players than the Bears.

Consider:

o The Lions have drafted five players in the top 38 over the past three years. The Bears have taken one: Fields. The Lions will take at least two more this offseason — they own their own draft pick and that of the Rams, who are currently slated to pick eighth. The Bears will have a prime draft selection in 2023 — with two weeks left, they trail the Texans, who hold the first pick, by a half-game.

o The Lions have three of their own first-round picks on their offensive line — tackle Taylor Decker (2016), center Frank Ragnow (2018) and right tackle Penei Sewell (2021). The Bears have one of their own first-round picks on their entire roster: Fields.

The Bears know it takes time to build a line — “It’s hard to get high-level players at a position group all at once,” head coach Matt Eberflus said — and that it won’t all be solved even with a free-agent splurge. Bears general manager Ryan Poles is projected to have $119.4 million in 2023 cap space, while the next-closest team has $50 million less.

o The Lions have the league’s worst defense but have used their highest draft picks on defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (No. 2 overall in 2022) and cornerback Jeff Okudah (No. 3 in 2020). They’ve been inconsistent — Pro Football Focus considers Hutchinson the 30th-best edge rusher and Okudah the 74th-best corner — but represent the two positions that all modern defenses must invest in. The Bears haven’t drafted a Round 1 cornerback since 2014 or a first-round defensive end since 2012.

o The Lions boast Amon-Ra St. Brown, a former fourth-round pick who ranks seventh in the NFL with 96 catches and 10th with 1,050 yards. He isn’t even the most intriguing receiver on his own team: former Alabama star Jameson Williams, for whom the Lions traded up to draft 12th, made his NFL debut Dec. 4 after tearing his ACL during the national title game. The Bears have drafted three receivers in the top 12, ever — and the last was Kevin White.

Quarterback Jared Goff is having a resurgent year — his 98.3 passer rating is his best since his Rams went to the Super Bowl in 2018 — but won’t likely be the centerpiece of a championship team. His Super Bowl berth appearance was a rare recent time a team reached the Super Bowl without a superstar quarterback.

Fields still has a chance to, with improvement, find that stardom. His performance this season with a depleted offensive roster gives the Bears hope he’ll take off when paired with better teammates. That’s the comfort the Bears have in the face of all the above — from their lack of recent first-round picks to the fact they traded their high second-rounder to the Steelers for receiver Chase Claypool.

Even if Fields develops, he’ll need help. The Bears know that. And so do the Lions, who won little with star quarterback Matthew Stafford for 12 years, only to watch him win the Super Bowl with the Rams last year.

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The Bears will get at least three starters back Sunday against the Lions with the return of left guard Cody Whitehair, right guard Teven Jenkins and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. All three of them practiced in full Friday and have no game designation, meaning they’re good to go.

The Bears also could get wide receiver Chase Claypool back from a knee injury. He was limited in practice Friday and questionable for the game. Coach Matt Eberflus wouldn’t give any clarification on the likelihood of him playing.

Claypool has been out since the Dec. 4 game against the Packers. He is the Bears’ best playmaking threat since Darnell Mooney is out for the season.

Without those players, the Bears tied their franchise-long losing streak with their eighth in a row, falling 35-13 to the Bills on Saturday. At 3-12, they are heading toward their second-worst record ever.

They’re a 6.5-point underdog at the Lions on Sunday and are at risk of being swept by them in the season series for the first time since 2017. The Lions won 31-30 at Soldier Field in November.

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WASHINGTON — Sherlock Holmes is finally free to the American public in 2023.

The long-running contested copyright dispute over Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales of a whipsmart detective — which has even ensnared Enola Holmes — will finally come to an end as the 1927 copyrights expiring Jan. 1 include Conan Doyle’s last Sherlock Holmes work.

Alongside the short-story collection “The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes,” books such as Virginia Woolf’s “To The Lighthouse,” Ernest Hemingway’s “Men Without Women,” William Faulkner’s “Mosquitoes” and Agatha Christie’s “The Big Four” — an Hercule Poirot mystery — will become public domain as the calendar turns to 2023.

Once a work enters the public domain it can legally be shared, performed, reused, repurposed or sampled without permission or cost. The works from 1927 were originally supposed to be copyrighted for 75 years, but the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act delayed opening them up for an additional 20 years.

While many prominent works on the list used those extra two decades to earn their copyright holders good money, a Duke University expert says the copyright protections also applied to “all of the works whose commercial viability had long subsided.”

“For the vast majority — probably 99% — of works from 1927, no copyright holder financially benefited from continued copyright. Yet they remained off limits, for no good reason,” Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, wrote in a blog post heralding “Public Domain Day 2023.”

That long U.S. copyright period meant many works that would now become available have long since been lost, because they were not profitable to maintain by the legal owners, but couldn’t be used by others. On the Duke list are such “lost” films like Victor Fleming’s “The Way of All Flesh” and Tod Browning’s “London After Midnight.”

1927 portended the silent film era’s end with the release of the first “talkie” — a film with dialogue in it. That was “The Jazz Singer,” the historic first feature-length film with synchronized dialogue also notorious for Al Jolson’s blackface performance.

In addition to the Alan Crosland-directed film, other movies like “Wings” — directed by William A. Wellman and the “outstanding production” winner at the very first Oscars — and Fritz Lang’s seminal science-fiction classic “Metropolis” will enter the public domain.

Musical compositions — the music and lyrics found on sheet music, not the sound recordings — on the list include hits from Broadway musicals like “Funny Face” and jazz standards from the likes of legends like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, in addition to Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “(I Scream You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream” by Howard Johnson, Billy Moll and Robert A. King.

Duke’s Center for the Public Domain highlighted notable books, movies and musical compositions entering the public domain — just a fraction of the thousands due to be unleashed in 2023:

BOOKS

— “The Gangs of New York,” by Herbert Asbury (original publication)

— “Death Comes for the Archbishop,” by Willa Cather

— “The Big Four,” by Agatha Christie

— “The Tower Treasure,” the first Hardy Boys mystery by the pseudonymous Franklin W. Dixon

— “The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes,” by Arthur Conan Doyle

— “Copper Sun,” by Countee Cullen

— “Mosquitoes,” by William Faulkner

— “Men Without Women,” by Ernest Hemingway

— “Der Steppenwolf,” by Herman Hesse (in German)

— “Amerika,” by Franz Kafka (in German)

— “Now We Are Six,” by A.A. Milne with illustrations from E.H. Shepard

— “Le Temps retrouv?,” by Marcel Proust (in French)

— “Twilight Sleep,” by Edith Wharton

— “The Bridge of San Luis Rey,” by Thornton Wilder

— “To The Lighthouse,” by Virginia Woolf

MOVIES

— “7th Heaven,” directed by Frank Borzage

— “The Battle of the Century,” a Laurel and Hardy film directed by Clyde Bruckman

— “The Kid Brother,” directed by Ted Wilde

— “The Jazz Singer,” directed by Alan Crosland

— “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock

— “Metropolis,” directed by Fritz Lang

— “Sunrise,” directed by F.W. Murnau

— “Upstream,” directed by John Ford

— “Wings,” directed by William A. Wellman

MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS

— “Back Water Blues,” “Preaching the Blues” and “Foolish Man Blues” (Bessie Smith)

— “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” from the musical “Good News” (George Gard “Buddy” De Sylva, Lew Brown, Ray Henderson)

— “Billy Goat Stomp,” “Hyena Stomp” and “Jungle Blues” (Ferdinand Joseph Morton)

— “Black and Tan Fantasy” and “East St. Louis Toodle-O” (Bub Miley, Duke Ellington)

— “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” and “Ol’ Man River,” from the musical “Show Boat” (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern)

— “Diane” (Erno Rapee, Lew Pollack)

— “Funny Face” and “‘S Wonderful,” from the musical “Funny Face” (Ira and George Gershwin)

— “(I Scream You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream” (Howard Johnson, Billy Moll, Robert A. King)

— “Mississippi Mud” (Harry Barris, James Cavanaugh)

— “My Blue Heaven” (George Whiting, Walter Donaldson)

— “Potato Head Blues” and Gully Low Blues” (Louis Armstrong)

— “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (Irving Berlin)

— “Rusty Pail Blues,” “Sloppy Water Blues” and “Soothin’ Syrup Stomp” (Thomas Waller)

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