Bears lose Kevin White to ankle injury, but receivers see spark

Bears receivers say they can be the best group in the NFL.

Now they need to stay healthy.

After catching six passes for 55 yards Sunday, Kevin White walked to the locker room with a left ankle injury late in the third quarter. Coach John Fox was predictably vague afterward, and White was not in the locker room when it was open to the media.

“He was getting off to a fast start,” receiver Eddie Royal said. “That’s the Kevin White I’ve seen in practice, and I was happy everyone was getting to see, because I know how dominant of a player he can be.”

Keeping White healthy would be a boon to a unit that saw Royal post his best game as a Bear, logging 111 yards —his most since Oct. 3, 2010 — on seven catches.

Royal guessed he jumped at least 30 inches in the air to catch a first-quarter score, a four-yard touchdown on a Brian Hoyer scramble-and-throw.

Perhaps the biggest play of the 17-14 win, though, was Royal’s 64-yard catch and run — the Bears’ longest play from scrimmage this year — on third-and-11 in the third quarter.

“It makes the defense so they can’t key on one guy,” Royal said. “We all know how good Alshon (Jeffery) is, and when we’re spreading the ball around, hopefully it will take away some double coverage from him.”

Jeffery, who had three catches for 46 yards, interjected.

“We got the best receiving group in the league,” Jeffery said.

This and that

• Cornerback Tracy Porter didn’t play in the second half because he had “a little pain” in the knee that bothered him all week in practice.

He said he “just didn’t feel like myself” but should be fine next Sunday.

• Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd sat in the second half with a right leg injury — it felt like a muscle pull — but said he’s “not worried at all” about playing next week. He said he could have returned; Fox said the team “didn’t feel the need” to bring him back.

• The Bears announced that 56,025 fans attended, meaning 4,816 tickets were purchased but went unused.