John Fox: 'It Was Great To See That Victory Face' After Bears' Win Over Lions
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bears coach John Fox was in a much better mood Monday than after the first three weeks of the season, following his team's first win of the season against the Lions on Sunday, and he hopes his team can build on that momentum.
"Just seeing the looks on the guys' faces, the smiles in the locker room after the game; you know, they've worked hard, and we've definitely shuffled through the lineup quite a bit and the roster," Fox told WBBM Newsradio's Josh Liss the morning after the Bears' 17-14 win over the Lions. "You know, those guys kind of stuck together, and it was great to see that victory face."
Fox credited his defense with stopping Detroit from making any big plays on offense, which was their primary focus going into Sunday's game.
"They've got a lot of weapons," Fox said. "It's a very explosive bunch. They'd scored a lot of points this early in the season, so that was pretty much the game plan. I thought our guys, our defensive staff and players did an excellent job."
After struggling through the first three games, the offense found some rhythm against the Lions, with Brian Hoyer passing for 302 yards, receiver Eddie Royal hauling in seven catches for 111 yards and rookie tailback Jordan Howard gaining 111 yards on 23 carries in his first career start. Howard was the first Bears rookie to run for 100 yards in his first start since Matt Forte in 2008.
"We executed, and we hadn't done that for 60 minutes so far this season, and it was good to finally see that," Fox said. "I thought Brian Hoyer did a good job operating our offense. I thought our O-line did well both in run blocking and pass protection. You know, our receivers made some big plays. Eddie Royal had a big day. I think Jordan Howard ran the ball very efficiently."
Although Hoyer played well Sunday, it's not clear if he'll get another start. Jay Cutler is still recovering from a thumb injury, and Fox said he doesn't know yet if Cutler will be ready to return next week against the Colts.
"We'll just wait and see on Jay," Fox said. "Right now it's a projection, because we don't know the health yet, and we're not going to put him back out there until he's 100 percent, and we'll evaluate that this week."