Cordarrelle Patterson's disappointing second season ended on another low note.

In the third quarter, Patterson was called into action on offense after fellow wide receiver Jarius Wright was knocked out of the game with a back injury. It didn't take long for rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to target Patterson on a slant. His pass was a little behind Patterson but still catchable. But the ball caromed off Patterson's hands directly to Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller, who nearly returned the interception for a score.

That was the last we saw of Patterson on offense. He was replaced on the next drive by Adam Thielen, who scored the first receiving touchdown of his young career.

Early in the opening comments of his post-game news conference, head coach Mike Zimmer took a subtle jab at Patterson, saying that Bridgewater's passer rating "would have been over 100 if the ball wouldn't have hit our guy in the chest and bounce out." He later acknowledged that the play led to Thielen's insertion into the offense.

Later, Zimmer was asked about the confidence level of Patterson, who was held without a catch and finished the season with just 33 catches for 384 yards and one touchdown.

"I've got a plan for this offseason for him, and hopefully it works," Zimmer said after taking several seconds to choose his words. "But it's going to be up to Cordarrelle. I'll leave it at that."