Chicago Bears: What You Need to Know Heading into Week 15

Thursday night’s 41-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys really couldn’t have gone worse for the Chicago Bears.

Not only did the Bears find a way to lose their eighth game of season, but the offense was also embarrassing, the defense even more embarrassing and Brandon Marshall suffered a season-ending injury, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.

Hope is gone for this Bears team, led by second-year head coach Marc Trestman. With the Detroit Lions beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, the Bears now are officially eliminated from postseason contention and for the fourth straight season, too.

Aside from draft position and jobs in 2015, there isn’t much left to play for at this stage, no matter what anyone inside the organization says, even Coach Trestman, via ChicagoBears.com:

"

There’s been certainly moments like this throughout as a head coach that have been extremely challenging. I embrace the challenge each and every day to try to create the best environment I can for this football team, and get it ready to play the next game. So I’m not backing down from that at all.

Frustration is something that is really momentary, and then you just move back into your mode into getting yourself and the football team ready to go. It’s frustrating, but it’s challenging. It’s part of the job to find different ways to send the same messages and help your guys grow, get better, as football players and as a team.

We’re going to relentlessly attack that each and every day that we have our players with us.

"

While it’s admirable for a head coach to stand tall and defend his process, Trestman’s words clearly have continued to fall flat, given the team’s completely inept offense, defense and special teams.

Let’s now take a look at a couple of Chicago Bears-related items you should know heading into Week 15 of the NFL season.

Who Replaces Brandon Marshall?

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Head coach Marc Trestman told reporters Friday that Marshall has two broken ribs and an injured lung.

While the team has yet to rule on Marshall's season, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that Marshall is indeed done for the season.

It looks like Marquess Wilson, the Bears' No. 3 receiver, will have no choice other than to step up in the absence of Marshall. Wilson started the season on injured reserve after breaking his collarbone during training camp.

Wilson has been back in the lineup now for four very disappointing games, catching only five passes on 14 targets for 40 yards.

The second-year wideout was supposed to add a different element to the Bears offense—speed. But Wilson has done very little to showcase his speed thus far, often finding himself an afterthought in the offense behind fellow receivers Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, along with running back Matt Forte and tight end Martellus Bennett.

Maybe it has something to do with trust. Wilson and Jay Cutler have not had much time to get acclimated to one another. And if you know anything about Cutler, he loves his guys. That's why only the aforementioned four guys on this team see the ball with any regularity.

Until the team officially announces that Marshall is out for the season, we won’t know how the Bears plan to replace him. But Wilson offers the most upside, and the Bears have been crazy about this kid for some time now.

"Sky's the limit for him," Jeffery said during the offseason, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. "We can't wait to see what he's got."

Well, Jeffery, along with everyone else inside the organization now will have a chance to see what this kid can bring to the table on a regular basis.

No Changes on the Coaching Staff (For Now)

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Head coach Marc Trestman meets with general manager Phil Emery the day after every game, and this past week was no different.

When Trestman was asked about his job security following Thursday’s ridiculous egg-laying against the Cowboys, the head coach said, “It’s been tremendously supportive during the good weeks and the bad weeks, and it’s been extremely consistent by everybody here."

While that more than certainly seems hard to believe, given how far this team has fallen, Trestman is still the head coach, and he figures to be until the end of the season, at the very least.

At this stage, it’s highly unlikely anyone on Trestman’s staff gets fired until the season ends, no matter how the final three games go. Management has rolled with this group for 13 games, what’s another three more?

The only thing that really could change the status quo for the Bears is another ugly loss on national television, and that’s exactly where the Bears will find themselves come Monday night, when the equally confusing New Orleans Saints roll into town.

"The only thing we’re going to do is we’re going to go back to work Monday and get our football team ready to get better to get ready for the Saints," Trestman said, via ChicagoBears.com. "That’s our only focus right now."

Focus away, coach. Your job more than likely depends on it.

What’s Ailing the Bears?

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There isn’t nearly enough time to satisfactorily answer this question. So let’s just focus on one area, penalties.

When asked about the penalty issue, Trestman said, via ChicagoBears.com. “It’s difficult to pinpoint” why it continues to happen, “because it’s never been the same person.”

Penalties are due to a lack of preparation, a lack of focus within the game. Wouldn’t it actually be better if it were only one guy? Wouldn’t the issue be easier to correct if it were just one?

For the record, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required): Jordan Mills, Brandon Marshall and Kyle Long lead the offense with seven penalties each. Defensively, Kyle Fuller and Willie Young lead the way with five each.

The way Trestman chose to answer that question is more of an indictment on himself as a head coach. Sometimes a head coach will fail to get on the same page with one or two of his players, but for Trestman to say that it’s not just one guy, that pretty much speaks to his inability to get his team prepared to play each week.

"It’s been no one particular guy. And it’s predominantly the same group of guys we had a year ago," Trestman went on to say. "There’s really no one thing you can put your hand on regarding that. You just have to continue to go back and work on those things during the course of the week."