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.”

• Follow Bob’s Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.