Bears barely avoid setting franchise low in rushing yards

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Jordan Howard is tackled out of bounds by the Eagles’ Corey Graham on Sunday. (AP)

PHILADELPHIA — Quarterback Mitch Trubisky saved the Bears some ignominy when, down four touchdowns with 2½ minutes left Sunday, he scrambled left and ran out of bounds after an 11-yard gain.

That raised the Bears’ rushing total to five yards and prevented them from setting a franchise low. They had one rushing yard against the Rams in 1952.

‘‘We didn’t establish [the run game] at any point in the game,’’ coach John Fox said.

The total was hurt by a 12-yard loss on a reverse to Tarik Cohen, but the running game was never effective. Jordan Howard ran seven times for six yards, and Cohen — who said that ‘‘when you go backward, no matter where you are on the field, it’s always deflating’’ — ran twice for minus-11 yards.

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‘‘Honestly, in my opinion, it comes down to, ‘Who are we? What do we do best?’ ’’ tackle Charles Leno Jr. said. ‘‘We’re an outside-zone team. We didn’t get to a lot of that. We didn’t get to a lot of outside zone.’’

Leno was asked whether that was because of the opponent or the plays the Bears called.

‘‘I’m not the play-caller; you can’t say what I’m calling,’’ he said. ‘‘I just know we’re an outside-zone team. We didn’t get to a lot of that early, like we were supposed to. And once you’re playing catch-up to a front like that, good luck.’’

Guard Kyle Long called the Eagles ‘‘one of the best defenses I’ve ever played’’ but said the Bears also were to blame for their struggles.

‘‘Two parts poor performance on our part, myself included, and one part damn good defense,’’ he said.

On Floyd’s injury

Sam Acho said fellow outside linebacker Leonard Floyd already has had surgery to repair the medial collateral and posterior collateral ligaments in his right knee.

Floyd, who was put on injured reserve Thursday, texted his position-mates words of encouragement before the game. Acho, who started in his place, said he was inspired.

‘‘When you wake up to a text like that after he just had surgery — he texted us at 5 in the morning — what else are you supposed to do?’’ he said. ‘‘I didn’t have a choice.’’

General manager Ryan Pace told the Bears’ pregame show that Floyd is expected to recover relatively quickly.

‘‘We feel like he’ll be ready definitely for training camp,’’ he said on WBBM (780-AM, 105.9-FM). ‘‘This isn’t an injury that’s going to affect him long-term.’’

Long story

Sunday might have marked the last time Long will share a field with his older brother, Chris. The Eagles defensive end is 32.

Long knocked down his brother when he ran a stunt.

‘‘I didn’t pile-drive him,’’ Long said. ‘‘I kind of laid on top of him. I told him, ‘I love ya,’ and he said it back, actually.’’

Chris Long said he sympathized with his brother’s season.

‘‘Certainly, he’s dealt with his share of adversity this year — injuries and stuff he can’t control,’’ Chris Long said. ‘‘But I’m proud of the way he’s battled. And I know it’s tough losing. I’ve been there before.’’

This and that

Guard Josh Sitton left with a concussion in the second quarter. He was replaced by Bradley Sowell.

• Safety Adrian Amos left after hurting his hamstring in the third quarter.

Follow me on Twitter @patrickfinley.

Email: pfinley@suntimes.com

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