Do you believe in John Fox? Bears still in line — for now

TAMPA, Fla. — Never one to divulge much, Bears coach John Fox used 22 words to describe his message to his team after its embarrassing 36-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

“You know, basically, we’ll hang together,” Fox said, “and we’ll go back to the drawing board, and you know, we’ve got to get better.”

It’s a good thing players said that Fox delivered something more riveting than that. It’s just a matter of whether it resonates. Fox, for his own good, needs to prevent history from repeating itself.

The Bears began Nov. 9, 2014, in similar circumstances. They were at the halfway point of their season. They just had the bye week to rest up. And they preached confidence.

And the Green Bay Packers lambasted Marc Trestman’s Bears 55-14 at Lambeau Field.

It’s said that was the moment the Bears brass knew change was needed — that Trestman had to go.

Sunday was worse, and that’s why the rest of the season has turned into a test of Fox’s fortitude and leadership.

Trestman’s Bears were a win-now operation. Fox’s Bears aren’t; they are rebuilding.

Still, it’s on Fox to prevent the season from going devastatingly awry. This was a horrendous start to the second half of the season.

The Bucs aren’t the 2014 Packers, a team that reached the NFC title game. The Bucs had been winless at home before the Bears and thousands of their unlucky fans came to town.

In 2014, the Bears wallowed into their bye week after getting trounced by the New England Patriots 51-23 at Gillette Stadium.

These Bears were confident they could build off their 20-10 victory over Minnesota Vikings two weeks ago.

Players actually talked about the playoffs and winning out. “Why not us?” was the message at Halas Hall.

Well, here’s why. As it stands, that victory meant little. The Vikings have lost four consecutive games.

Even hanging close with the Packers in the first half of their 26-10 loss on Oct. 20 looks fruitless now for the Bears. The Packers have lost four of their last five.

The lone win came against the Bears, who turned to No. 3 quarterback Matt Barkley after backup Brian Hoyer broke his arm.

“I didn’t see this coming,” said receiver Alshon Jeffery, who had four catches for 47 yards. “Hats off to those guys. I thought we would come in here and handle our business.”

It starts and ends with the awful play of quarterback Jay Cutler, who had two interceptions, two fumbles (one for a safety) and a 55.1 passer rating.

“[Fox] challenged us,” Cutler said. “Obviously, we weren’t good, and he made that point. He just kind of challenged everyone man-to-man. There’s a lot of football left. We’re looking for guys that aren’t going to quit.”

We’ll see if they have them. It certainly doesn’t help that right guard Kyle Long is facing a lengthy absence after severely injuring his right ankle.

It’s on Fox, his coaching staff and his captains — Cutler, Jeffery, linebacker Danny Trevathan and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee — to keep everyone marching in the same direction.

“He’s a fighter,” Trevathan said. “We’re behind him 110 percent.”

McPhee seemed to suggest that players needed to be more accountable.

“Coach is a great coach,” McPhee said. “We just got to spend more time being professionals. We’ve got a lot of young guys. And that ain’t no excuse.

“But I just think we’ve got to be more professional, taking care of our bodies and studying film and studying our playbook.”

Coaching helps with that, too.

And again, that starts with Fox.

“We’re all together,” Trevathan said. “If we start breaking down, that’s when things go hectic. We can still fight this thing out.”