The Bears will travel to Detroit to battle the Lions Sunday in an NFC North clash at Ford Field. Both teams are looking to rebound after dropping their season openers to division opponents, with the Bears falling to the Vikings 27-24 and the Lions losing to the Packers 27-13.

"It will be a tough environment," coach Ben Johnson said. "That place has really turned into one of the strongest home-field advantage places in the National Football League, and so we'll have our work cut out for us. We'll have to communicate within that hostile environment, and I think we'll find out a lot about ourselves."

When the Bears have the ball

The offense will look to build on its positives from Week 1. Against the Vikings, quarterback Caleb Williams completed his first 10 pass attempts and demonstrated his ability to scramble and extend plays that he turned into downfield completions. The second-year pro led the Bears in rushing with 58 yards on six carries, including his first career rushing touchdown on a 9-yard scramble.

An effective run game no doubt would benefit Williams and the passing attack. In the season opener, the Bears called 20 running plays, with D'Andre Swift rushing for 53 yards on 17 carries and DJ Moore adding eight yards on three attempts.

Asked about getting rookie running back Kyle Monangai involved Sunday in Detroit, Johnson said: "I need to call more runs. I need to call more so that we get him in the game a little bit more. That's something 'EB' (running backs coach Eric Bieniemy) and I have talked about, making sure he has more carries going forward."

After being flagged for four false starts against the Vikings, the Bears will continue to focus on eliminating pre-snap penalties versus the Lions.

"The key to eliminating that is emphasizing it and continuing to emphasize it," said offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. "It's been something that we've worked on since we've gotten here, but it's not up to our standard right now, and our standard is championship standard … That's something that's an issue that's addressed with the full group and it's obviously got to get cleaned up."

Playing in a loud road stadium will necessitate using a silent snap count.

"You've definitely got to use it on an away game," Williams said, "especially any in-division game that we're going against right here coming up this week, and being able to use that effectively is going to be good for us. I've had practice with it since last year, and now through training camp and this week we're going to be using it. It's something you need, something you need to use in those loud environments, and we'll use it effectively."

Key matchup: Bears right tackle Darnell Wright vs. Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson

The matchup between top-10 draft picks could be a major factor in Sunday's game. Wright will be challenged by Hutchinson, who has recorded 28.5 sacks in 40 games since being chosen by the Lions with the second pick in the 2022 draft out of Michigan. Hutchinson was named to the Pro Bowl in 2023 after registering 11.5 sacks and was leading the NFL with 7.5 sacks last year when he sustained a season-ending leg injury in Week 6.

When the Lions have the ball

The Bears defense no doubt will benefit from the expected return of Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson and linebacker T.J. Edwards. Both key starters practiced without limitations Friday and were not given an injury designation for Sunday's game after missing the season opener with injuries.

The Lions feature a dynamic running back tandem in former Bear David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Both players produced at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 TDs each of the past two seasons, becoming only the second running back duo in NFL history to accomplish that feat.

Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen expects Detroit to try to establish the run.

"I know that's going to be their mentality," he said. "They have a bully ball mentality. They want to be able to run the football. That's where everything starts with this football team is their ability to run the football, which opens up the play-action passing game. We understand that that's going to be a challenge.

"It's going to start with our ability to stop the run. We're going to have to do a good job there. And then we're going to have to eliminate the explosive plays, whether it be the checkdowns and the run-after-catch … or some of the shot plays down the field. They're effective in doing a lot of different things."

The Bears defensive line generated three sacks last Monday night against the Vikings and will need to pressure Lions quarterback Jared Goff Sunday.

"When he's able to throw the ball on timing and rhythm, he's an exceptional pocket passer," Allen said. "We've got to be able to disrupt timing, whether that be through the rush or that be through the coverage. That's what the whole thing's got to be predicated on is trying to make him uncomfortable in the pocket, and so we'll have a plan for that."

Key matchup: Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson vs. Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown

Johnson's expected return comes just in time to face the explosive St. Brown, whose 434 career receptions are tied for the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2021. Allen's scheme is known for its man-to-man coverage, and preventing big plays will be key for a Bears defense that did not permit a gain of more than 28 yards in Monday night's opener against the Vikings.

Fun facts

• The matchup marks Bears coach Ben Johnson's return to Detroit, where he spent the past three seasons coordinating an offense that led the NFL in points per game (29.0), total yards per game (394.8), passing yards per game (258.0), red zone touchdown percentage (66.7) and passer rating (103.1) during his tenure.

• Williams has the best TD pass-interception ratio (21-6) among 28 quarterbacks selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the common draft era through 18 starts.

• Cole Kmet needs 17 receiving yards to surpass Desmond Clark for the third most by a Bears tight end and needs one TD catch to tie Greg Olsen for the second most among Bears tight ends.