Fox focused on Chicago Bears' final 8 games

Chicago Bears coach John Fox doesn't believe in dwelling on the past, which for his team included a 1-6 start.

"You can spend a lot of time looking in the rearview mirror driving your car," Fox said. "If you spend too much time looking back, then you wreck. So our focus is in front of us now."

Still, Fox couldn't resist a glance back at the first half that included a 6-point loss to the Colts at Indianapolis and a 1-point loss at home to the 2-6 Jacksonville Jaguars.

"A couple of those games go the other way, we're 4-4 instead of 2-6," Fox said. "It sounds a little better. But we can't change that. We are what we are.

"Right now we can be 10-6 or 2-14; that's the reality. Hopefully we can move more toward the first one."

Looking ahead, three of the Bears' next four games are against opponents with losing records: on the road against the 3-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 5-3 New York Giants, then back home to host the 4-5 Tennessee Titans and the 1-7 San Francisco 49ers.

Ground and pound:

The Bears' season-high 158 rushing yards in their Week 8 upset of the Minnesota Vikings was accomplished in the absence of injured Pro Bowl guards Kyle Long (arm) and Josh Sitton (ankle).

Eric Kush and Ted Larsen filled in for Sitton and Long, respectively.

"I saw a group of guys that played with passion and purpose and played within themselves," Long said. "Ted and Eric did such an incredible job. Guys like (left tackle Charles) Leno and (rookie center) Cody (Whitehair) kept everybody focused.

"I know it helped having (No.) 6 (quarterback Jay Cutler) back out there. It was a lot of fun to watch, but it was tough not being out there."

In addition to the arm injury that kept Long out in Week 8, he has been hampered all season by a shoulder injury.

"I feel like I don't want to be on that (injury) list anymore," he said. "I want to be right next to Charles Leno, slapping him five when Jordan Howard runs for 70 yards, and there's no reason I can't be and shouldn't be out there."

Back for more:

Wide receiver Marquess Wilson returned to practice Monday, which opened the 21-day window the team has to add him to the 53-man roster or place him back on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

In late spring, Wilson refractured his left foot. The same injury cost him the final five games of the 2015 season. Wilson also missed the first nine games in 2014 when he suffered a fractured clavicle in training camp.

"It's never easy," he said. "It's disappointing to be hurt and let your teammates down. It's just a blessing to be back on the field."

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