LAKE FOREST, Ill. – When they return to action Sunday against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field, Kyle Orton and a potent Bears passing attack will look to pick up where they left off before their bye week.

Kyle Orton has recorded two of the three highest passer ratings of his career in blowout wins over the Lions, a 121.4 earlier this season and a 103.3 in a 2005 win.

In his last three games, Orton has completed 71 of 109 passes for 903 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 106.2 passer rating. Over the past six weeks, the former Purdue star has thrown for an average of 274 yards, the fourth most in the NFL.

After the Bears rushed for 298 yards in their first two games of the season, opposing defenses started to stack the line to stop the run, daring Orton to beat them. He's done just that, tossing 10 TD passes in his last five starts, tied for the fourth most in the league.

“It’s nice when you’re getting good looks to throw the football, and we get good looks to throw,” said Orton, who is tied with the Eagles' Donovan McNabb for 11th in the NFL with a 91.4 passer rating. 

“First-down defenses want to come up and stop the run. We’ve thrown the ball pretty effectively in good-look situations and just really need to keep on continuing to do that.”

While the Bears (4-3) pride themselves on being a team that “comes off the bus running,” the key to their success on offense this season has been their ability to adapt.

“We’ve been throwing the football more,” Orton said. “We’re all about taking what they want to give us, so if we start seeing looks that are favorable to the run, we’ll run the football. I feel like if we go out and execute against anybody, we can move the football whether that’s running or passing.”

“You’ve got to be able to do both,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “If you can only do one thing, they can take it away. If they want to take something away, they can take it away in this league, and if they do, you’ve got to be able to adjust and make plays. If they’re determined to stop the run, you’ve got to be able to protect and make plays in the passing game, and once you do that, hopefully it will open up some stuff in the run game.”

Facing a defense that was determined to stop the run, the Bears moved the ball primarily through the air in their 34-7 rout of the Lions Oct. 5 in Detroit. While attempting 34 runs and 34 passes, Chicago rushed for just 97 yards while throwing for 328 yards.

Rookie running back Matt Forte leads the Bears with 29 receptions for 223 yards.

Orton set career highs in that contest with 334 yards and a 121.4 passer rating. With his recent success, the Lions and future opponents could begin to concentrate more on defending the pass.

“A good offense is an offense that can adjust on the fly,” Orton said. “I think we’ll start getting looks that we don’t expect from teams. But we’ve got smart football players on offense and we’ll be able to talk about it on the sideline and adjust, and be able to do it quickly.”

With Orton operating the NFL’s 11th-ranked passing offense, the Bears are averaging 28 points per game, which is tied for the second most in the league. Six different players have caught 15 or more passes for at least 200 yards this season. The Bears passing offense has ranked among the league’s top 11 just once in the past 27 seasons—a No. 3 finish in 1999.

“Our guys are playing with confidence, and we have been the last few weeks,” Turner said. “Kyle’s been playing with a lot of confidence right now. He’s been playing really well, and offensively I think everybody, when we take the field, we believe that we can score. I think everyone also understands that we haven’t played as well as we’re capable of yet either.”

If opponents begin to pay more attention to the Bears passing game, Matt Forte no doubt will benefit. After rushing for 304 yards in his first three NFL games, the rookie running back from Tulane has mustered just 211 yards in his last four contests while averaging 2.9 yards per carry.

“We can always do better in that aspect,” said left tackle John St. Clair. “We pride ourselves on running the ball. We haven’t done that the past few weeks. But at the same time, we’ve put up big numbers in the passing game. Kyle Orton’s done a great job when they stack the box. We try to take what they give us and I think we’ve been doing well with that.”

To his credit, Forte has been producing in other areas. He has caught a team-high 29 passes for 223 yards and 2 TDs and has excelled as a pass-blocker. The second-round pick still ranks 11th in the NFL in rushing with 515 yards on 147 carries and eighth with 738 yards from scrimmage.

“He’s done a great job ever since minicamp,” St. Clair said. “He’s very poised. For a young guy, he’s real mature. He can step up and pick up blitzes and do anything a nine- or 10-year vet can do. We’re excited about him. He’s a great guy to have on this team.”