The Bears lost 20-14 to the Lions on Sunday in quarterback Jimmy Clausen’s first start with the team, leaving them with just one more week until a dismal season can be put to rest.
Clausen went 22-of-39 for 181 yards, two touchdowns and an interception during the contest, which marked his first start since his rookie year with the Panthers in 2010. On Monday, coach Marc Trestman wasn’t ready to say whether Clausen will have a shorter wait before his next start.
“We’ll talk about it today,” Trestman said on WBBM Newsradio 780. “I thought he had a good performance. He needed some help. He didn’t get it -- had a few drops along the way, had a couple missed assignments up front in the running game, where we could’ve had a little bit more yardage. But I thought he handled himself [well], for two practices and having not played [much] for four years. It was certainly a good performance.”
Based on that final assessment, it would seem likely that Clausen will be back in the lineup against the Vikings in Week 17. The issues that caused Trestman to turn away from Jay Cutler aren’t going to disappear in a week and Trestman said he has no regrets about the change, so going back to Cutler would be odd. Giving rookie David Fales some playing time might be an idea, but the Bears didn’t even dress him against the Lions and that points toward a visit from Clausen after Santa Claus visits this week.