The only update provided by coach John Fox on the condition of Jay Cutler’s sprained right wrist was this: “He’s iced it. That’s probably helped the swelling.”

But Cutler did not practice at all Wednesday, so it appears likely Brian Hoyer will start at quarterback Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

It’s Hoyer’s first start as a Bear, but far from the first rodeo for the eight-year veteran.

He has a total of 26 career starts for three teams — Arizona (2011), Cleveland (2012-13) and Houston — all in the previous four years.

Undrafted in 2009 out of Michigan State, Hoyer was signed by the New England Patriots and spent three years there but threw just 43 passes and did not start.

Last year the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Hoyer started nine games for the Texans and threw 19 TD passes with just 7 interceptions for a 91.4 passer rating before signing with the Bears in May.

That was the best season of Hoyer’s career — until his 4-interception meltdown in the 30-0 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round.

Hoyer says his preparation hasn’t changed this week, but he says it never really does.

“Whether you’re the starter, the backup or the third guy, you prepare every week like you’re the starter,” he said.

“You may get a few more reps here or there, but (it’s about) being ready to play at any time. Just prepare like you’re going to play, take it one day at a time and come Sunday we’ll see what happens.”

Replacing Cutler late in the third quarter of Monday night’s 29-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles provided Hoyer with his first game action since the preseason finale.

He was efficient, completing 9 of 12 passes for 78 yards against soft coverage.

“Just getting a chance to play again (helped),” Hoyer

said. “It had been awhile since I had played in a live game. So at least you can get some of that seeing a real defense come at you, if I do have to play. It’s different when you’re doing the scout team during the week.”

Hoyer has the added challenge of taking over an offense that has struggled in most categories in the early going. The Bears are 31st of 32 teams in total yards, 26th in rushing yards, 29th in passing yards, 27th in sack percentage, 23rd in third-down efficiency and 30th in scoring.

“Each week is an individual week,” Hoyer said. “You’ve got to learn from the mistakes that you made, try to correct those, get better and keep doing the things well that you’re doing well. Each game is it’s own game, and you’ve just got to keep taking those steps every week.”

At 0-2, this is a Bears team desperate to step into the win column, but Hoyer knows firsthand that it’s not too late to salvage a successful season.

“I was on a team that started 0-2 last year, too,” he said. “And at one point, we were 2-5, and we still made the playoffs.

“It’s a long season. That’s the biggest thing to stress. Don’t panic. Go out and have a great week of practice and go out there on Sunday night and improve and get better.

“Sure, the first two games didn’t go the way we wanted them to, but there’s 14 left. That’s the way you’ve got to look at it.”

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