LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears rookie Tarik Cohen used to be one of the hottest names in the league, but the explosive all-purpose back's role on offense has greatly diminished in recent weeks.

Cohen was on the field for only 13 offensive snaps (out of a possible 60) and touched the ball just twice for 11 yards in Chicago's loss to Green Bay last Sunday.

Against New Orleans on Oct. 29, Cohen had five touches on offense for 8 yards in 18 snaps (out of a possible 67).

That's a far cry from Cohen's early-season accomplishments. The 5-foot-6 fourth-round pick made several high-impact plays out of the gate, including a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown and a passing touchdown on a trick play.

Cohen also has the Bears' longest play from scrimmage on the year (70-yard catch) and three runs of 25-plus yards.

"He's a dynamic playmaker, that's pretty obvious, so we just need to find ways to get him the ball, and I know we will," Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said. "That's an emphasis for us."

So, what's the problem?

The Bears cite several reasons for Cohen's mini-decline:

Cohen's no longer a secret

Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains: "Early on there was no tape on him. We kind of made it that way in preseason as well, kind of tried to keep him a secret. You guys saw him a little bit in practice and some of the skill set he had. It was easy to get the ball to him early in the year because everyone was, 'Hey, this guy has got some quickness, played well, showed up a little bit against Arizona.' Then he kind of jumped on the scene quickly in how much we were targeting him early in the year. I think the biggest thing, to be honest, that can help Tarik is the other guys start stepping up and start playing well around him and become more reliable receivers where maybe some of the ball distribution [improves] and attention goes away a little bit."

How the defense plays Cohen

Loggains: “"Every time Tarik is in the game, you don't know what you're going to get. New Orleans had their own separate package for him. Green Bay played him a completely different ways than they played the rest of the time. Sometimes you go in anticipating one thing and when they do something they've never done before, now it's make sure those two young players [Cohen and Trubisky] get on the same page. Sometimes you have to figure out what they're doing and how they're trying to dictate the game and they're playing different personnel groupings to it."

Bears coach John Fox: "Sometimes the defense dictates who gets the ball. I think from a running standpoint it was a game [against the Packers] where we didn't run the ball very effectively. I think we only ran it 17 times. I believe Jordan Howard being the fifth-leading rusher in the league probably commanded most of that. I think he had 15 carries. It's a situation where we'd like to get him more touches, but it just didn't materialize that well on that day. But I'd remind people that he's pretty high up there in both punt returns, he's our leading receiver with 29 catches, so it's not like we don't know who he is."

Loggains: "Because we look at the matchups, 'OK, they have dime 32 package.' Each week we might not feel great about Tarik in protection vs. Clay Matthews. Or there may be a certain blitz they run. This game is about matchups for us as well as them, and that is the first thing we look at when we decide who is going to be in the game."

Bears prefer Benny Cunningham over Cohen in certain packages

Fox: "Benny is a veteran guy. I mean, he's been in the league, he understands protections. Things change altogether on third down. Defenses are way more exotic. Everybody in the stadium kind of knows that it's going to be a pass if it's third-and-2 or more. So it becomes a little bit more critical. And we've gone with more veteran guys in that role thus far."

Loggains: "The challenge for us right now with Tarik, he's a really good player, sometimes the defense dictates who is going to be out there. Benny's role right now is third down and two-minute. Tarik needs to work [on] understanding the looks and doing all those things in third down and two-minute and still some of the details at receiver. Each week it's a different route, whether it be a post one week -- and for a guy that's never done that, it's not easy to do, especially when you're playing teams that play press coverage and now they're doubling you. Understanding when we run option routes and choice routes with him that where his leverages are, where he should break.

"So that's the biggest challenge for him and for us going forward, where eventually at some point he will grow more into the third-down and two-minute roles as he continues to progress. Right now he's playing more receiver. We have to do a really good job of finding ways for him, you know, because there is only one ball and if you're giving Howard carries, it's hard to get Tarik carries and him. So he's a game-plan player for us. We use him in specific ways. And we're going to continue to do that."

Fox: "I think protections are the hardest things, to be in that role as a back, particularly in passing situations. Those are things that any young player, it's probably the last thing to come. He's working at it. He's definitely smart enough. It's just that we've got a lot on his plate, and that plate is getting heavier."