5 things to watch in Bears-Lions game

(4) Will the Bears improve their run defense?

The Bears rank 31st against the run, yielding an average of 151.2 yards per game. Last weekend against the Bills, they surrendered 254 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries, an average of 8.2 yards per carry.

“It’s a lot of things,” Williams said. “First, it’s, ‘hey, we have to be stouter up the middle.’ You can’t let people run down the middle of the defense. No. 2 is you have to fit up the runs. In this defense, you have to be gap sound and guys have to read their keys first, and then go where the assignments say to go based on the coverage. And three is the secondary. It may be a 10-, 14-, 20-yard gain. It can’t be a 30-yard gain. So we have to tackle well in the secondary.

“Each level has a responsibility. So you have to [have] a little bit more attention to detail and get guys on the ground when they get in the open field.”

Stopping the run won’t be an easy task against the Lions; running back Jamaal Williams leads the NFL with 14 rushing TDs and has gained a career-high 850 yards on 224 carries. The Bears, meanwhile, have allowed a league-high 27 rushing TDs.

Detroit also boasts a strong offensive line.

“The strength of their team is the offensive line,” Eberflus said. “That’s the most talent they have on their groups and certainly they’ve been playing very well. They’ve done a good job of limiting sacks and doing those types of things and obviously running the ball as of late. That’s always a big part of having success is offensive line.”