Two games into his sophomore season, receiver Rome Odunze is already establishing himself as one of the Bears' top playmakers in coach Ben Johnson's offense.

Coming off the season opener against the Vikings where Odunze and quarterback Caleb Williams combined for two big plays — a 17-yard pass that led to the team's first touchdown and a 1-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter — the receiver took his productivity to the next level Sunday against the Lions.

Odunze put together a career performance in Detroit, hauling in seven catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns, including 37-yard reception in the fourth quarter that marked the Bears' longest play from scrimmage.

"Just kudos to everybody around, everybody doing their job," Odunze told ChicagoBears.com. "I've been able to make a few plays here and there, so, obviously, just trusting in the offense and trusting in the game plan and going out there and executing it. So, just honestly following that guideline has got me the stat line that I've had."

Odunze ranks in the top 10 among NFL WRs with 165 receiving yards and is one of just four receivers — eight players in total — to record three touchdowns in two games. He also became the first Bears receiver with three receiving TDs through the first two games of a season since Brandon Marshall in 2014.

The Washington product's ascension early in the season has been notable to his teammates. Veteran running back D'Andre Swift told reporters Monday he's seen "a big jump" from Odunze.

"You can tell he's playing with a lot of confidence," Swift said. "Playing fast. Knows his assignments. Type of guy you want in your offensive playmakers, as well as everybody else in that room."

That jump from last year's No. 9 overall draft pick doesn't come as a surprise to Odunze or his teammates. Back in June during OTAs, Odunze told reporters he felt great heading into his second NFL season and credited his offseason work where he focused on increasing his upper body strength, honing in on the details of his craft and emphasizing physicality.

The latter showed up Sunday when Odunze dove for a 21-yard reception over the middle while being closed in on by a pair of Lions defenders.

Odunze's focus on the details was apparent on his first touchdown catch, where he ran wide open from right to left on a crossing route, caught Williams' pass, sped upfield and made a move on Lions cornerback D.J. Reed just before the goal line to reach the end zone.

The receiver's second TD of the day – a 6-yard reception from Williams in the second quarter – can be attributed to the pair's organic connection.

"My route was a little bit messed up because I kind of got tripped up at the line," Odunze said, "so just being able to have that connection with him helped. It was kind of like a broken play in a sense, but we were able to lock eyes and make a play on that. So definitely kudos to our chemistry and hopefully that continues to develop."

Ironically, Williams and Odunze's relationship was forged in Detroit — where they both walked across the NFL Draft stage April 25, 2024, as Bears first-round selections.

Since draft night, their bond both on and off the field has been evident. And it's been valuable to the Bears offense as they work to master Johnson's system.

"We can kind of erase mistakes in a sense — with a broken play, make a positive out of what would be a negative play," Odunze shared. "So, those are obviously great things to be able to have in our back pocket, but at the end of the day, we want to run the offense clean and precisely. And if we do that, we'll have success on offense, so that's our main priority."

Through each game Williams and Odunze play together, their connection continues to grow. And early into their second seasons, Odunze is seeing Williams make strides as well.

Odunze believes the impact of the Bears' offensive line additions – guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, along with center Drew Dalman – have helped Williams be able to operate the offense and use his special improvisational skills.

"He's continued to improve, just from his last season to this season, in training camp, all those different things," Odunze said. "He's had steady improvement, and the O-line has done a great job of with their role as well, holding up front and doing a great job with keeping him in the pocket and giving him that space to make plays. He's done that well, and I think when he's had to improvise and use his own flair on the outside to make a play, he's done that as well."

While the Bears offense is still working to put together a complete game following losses to Minnesota and Detroit, Odunze and the rest of the unit have confidence in both themselves and Johnson's system to attain the success they're striving for.

Heading into Sunday's matchup with the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field, the group is locked in on making their necessary corrections and taking a step forward.

"That's all our focus is on, honestly — just flushing this last game, flushing the past two weeks and trying to get in the win category," Odunze said. "We know we've got a great team in Dallas coming in here to try and get a W, so we're going to go out there and compete and try to get our first win at home."