Final takeaways: Mitch Trubisky has more to learn after Lions loss

DETROIT — Random thoughts and observations while covering the Bears’ Week 15 matchup against the Lions at Ford Field.

FOURTH QUARTER

1. Bears coach John Fox can’t bask in Mitch Trubisky’s third-down glory anymore. Not after his interception on third down in the end zone — a throw he never should have made. He won’t like the look of it on film whatsoever.

2. Fox is 3-14 against the NFC North in three seasons. That’s damning.

3. Going back to the Bears’ 17-13 win against the Packers on Thanksgiving in 2015, the Bears are 1-7 in games following their victories. That’s damning, too. The Bears don’t build on their success under Fox.

4. Trubisky (31-for-46, 314 yards, touchdown, three interceptions) made some impressive throws in the second half, but overall, the entire offense looked listless against a middle-of-the road opponent that was allowing more than 25 points per game heading into Saturday.

5. Running back Jordan Howard had 10 carries for 37 yards. So much for that rushing record he wanted.

6. Do you remember how excited everyone was about receiver Dontrelle Inman? He had one catch for five yards, which is better than having no catches for no yards, which he had last week against the Bengals.

THIRD QUARTER

1. Trubisky was bound to get picked off. He had throws earlier in the game that sailed high on him.

2. Which team prides itself on the run again? The Lions entered the game with the worst rushing offense in the NFL. With 992 rushing yards in 13 games, they were the only team under 1,000 yards entering Week 15. After three quarters, the Lions had 80 rushing yards, while the Bears had 40.

3. Text from Bears season-ticket holder: “1 step forward 2 steps back.”

SECOND QUARTER

1. I think the Lions might be better — and a bit more motivated — than the Bengals.

2. And Stafford is obviously better than Andy Dalton. Just look at his 48-yard bomb to receiver Marvin Jones. He avoided the Bears’ pass rush, got outside the pocket and let it rip on the move.

3. Tarik Cohen must hate the color yellow. He had a 90-yard kickoff return wiped out by safety DeAndre Houston-Carson’s holding penalty. It’s the third consecutive week a big play by Cohen was negated by a penalty.

4. Lucky break? Running back Theo Riddick’s fumble at the Lions’ 27 certainly gave the Bears life that they didn’t have with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. It gave the Bears three points.

FIRST QUARTER

1. A 6-0 hole against the Lions? The Bears should be happy to take it after only having the ball for four minutes, 12 seconds in the first quarter.

2. Catch the ball Kendall Wright … and stop comparing yourself and the Bears’ receivers to Antonio Brown.

3. It’s never a good sign when special-teamer Sherrick McManis is featured as a situational pass rusher. Yet, there he was for the second week in a row. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford made McManis miss with a spin move and found tight end Eric Ebron for a 19-yard completion on third down to extend their first drive.

4. Second-year safety Deiondre’ Hall was inactive. He wasn’t on the injury report before the game. So why did the Bears activate him off injured reserve again?

One would think that the Bears would want to get their young safety some playing time after he missed most of the season with a hamstring injury. Hall played only one defensive snap last week against the Bengals.