Reintroducing Tarik Cohen: Bears rookie makes an impact with tying TD

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Bears rookie running back Tarik Cohen dives just inside the pylon for a 15-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears a 24-all tie with the Lions with 5:02 to play Sunday at Soldier Field. The Lions won, 27-24. (John Starks/Daily Herald via AP)

It’s almost like the Bears were publicly shamed into using running back Tarik Cohen, a pretty good trick for an organization that generally doesn’t embarrass easily or respond to outside criticism.

Or maybe it was just a coincidence that Cohen re-emerged as a weapon in the Bears’ developing, struggling offense after coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains were grilled by reporters and lambasted by fans and critics last week for turning their ‘‘biggest playmaker’’ into a virtual spectator.

Whatever the motivation, the Bears finally found a way to get the diminutive Cohen his elusive touches in a 27-24 loss Sunday to the Lions at Soldier Field. The 5-6, 179-pound rookie from North Carolina A&T had nine rushes for 44 yards, including a diving 15-yard touchdown that tied the score in the fourth quarter, and caught four passes for 15 yards.

That’s relatively modest production. But it’s evidence that after opposing defenses responded to Cohen’s initial burst in the first three weeks of the season, the Bears were capable of responding back. The 13 touches were more than the eight Cohen had in the previous three games.

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‘‘It’s always exciting because this is the game we love to play,’’ Cohen said. ‘‘So when you’re going to be on the field with more with more opportunities to get in the end zone and make big plays, you’re always going to be excited.’’

Even then, it wasn’t enough. Cohen was conspicuous by his absence on the Bears’ final drive, which started with 1:31 left in regulation. In fact, rookie tight end Adam Shaheen and running back Jordan Howard also were on the sidelines for the two-minute drill.

But while mystifying to some, it turns out we’re the idiots.

‘‘There are a lot of situations that a lot of people, including you all, don’t get,’’ Fox said. ‘‘In a two-minute situation, not everybody on the team knows all of that. We have Adam Shaheen, Mitchell Trubisky, Tarik Cohen — they are all playing [in the early stages of] their NFL career, as rookies. They have a lot on their plate as it is, and they can’t do everything.’’

Cohen acknowledged it was frustrating to be on the sidelines, but he wasn’t surprised or miffed. He still has a lot to learn, he said.

‘‘Probably just the hurry-up plays at those positions,’’ Cohen said. ‘‘I know certain plays at those positions, but just to open up the whole playbook with me, I’d have to learn all of those plays.’’

Using Cohen is still a work in progress, but the game was encouraging. Cohen’s 10-yard gain in the second quarter was his first double-digit run since a 36-yarder in overtime against the Steelers in Week 3. Since then, he had averaged 2.3 yards per carry (31 rushes, 72 yards).

And Cohen’s 15-yard touchdown was a well-conceived play, a pitchout to the left side in which he immediately had room to run and dived over safety Glover Quin for the tying touchdown with 5:02 left.

‘‘I feel like I had a 44-inch [vertical],’’ Cohen said. ‘‘It’s a play we’ve been working on for a while now to get me in space with a one-on-one matchup.

‘‘I just knew I had to either get to the pylon or, if [Quin] was going to meet me there first, I had to stop his feet. So I gave him a hesitation move and just had to go over the top, stretch and get into the end zone.’’

Follow me on Twitter @MarkPotash.

Email: mpotash@suntimes.com

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