Defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter spoke to the media Tuesday as they do every week.
Here are 10 takeaways from those media sessions:
1. Pasqualoni said it was good to see defensive end Ziggy Ansah back on the field this week and able to make an impact for the defense. Ansah had Detroit's only sack of the game, which helped keep the Vikings out of the end zone and force a field goal. He played only 12 snaps in the game after sitting out the previous six weeks. The Lions will continue to build up his work in practice this week, and hopefully get him more snaps in Chicago Sunday.
2. Cooter was asked to assess the job he's done up to the midway point of the season.
"About 3-5," he said. "Wise old coach once said you are kind of what your record says you are. Need to improve. Need to keep getting better."
3. Detroit's defense has an interesting task this week when it comes to containing Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. He has 302 rushing yards this season for an average of 7.9 yards per attempt. He'll both scramble to run and scramble to throw, so the Lions have to be careful attacking him in that regard.
4. Scoring touchdowns in the red zone has been an issue at times for the Lions' offense. Detroit ranks 29th in that category midway through the season. Cooter said that's a statistic that's really on him. He has to do a better job coaching it deep in opponent territory. It will be a big focus in practice this week. Chicago ranks 22nd in the NFL in red zone defense (62.5 percent).
5. Defensive tackle Damon Harrison has made a big impact in his first two games in Detroit. What has impressed the coaching staff, and particularly Pasqualoni, over the last week and a half is the fact that Harrison is extremely coachable and works hard on the fundamentals and techniques of playing his position.
6. Head coach Matt Patricia talked Monday about the need to go back to some of the fundamentals and techniques this week that players have gotten away from. Cooter echoed that sentiment when asked about some of the issues that plagued the offense Sunday in Minnesota, especially upfront along the offensive line.
7. Cornerback Nevin Lawson "competed his butt off" last week in holding talented Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen to his first sub-100-yard receiving game of the season. Lawson said Monday it still wasn't good enough by his standards because Thielen did have a short touchdown, but Lawson competed and did a pretty good job. That should give him a lot of confidence moving forward.
8. The Bears have one of the best defenses in the NFL. Cooter said the thing that jumps out to him on film the most is how they attack the football. Chicago has 21 takeaways and a turnover differential of plus-10.
9. Second-year cornerback Teez Tabor has struggled with more playing time the last three weeks, but Pasqualoni said he still has confidence in Tabor. He's looking for consistent improvement from Tabor, and believes that if Tabor continues to work on the fundamentals and techniques and stays focused, he'll see improvement.
10. Asked about Theo Riddick's performance in the slot last week in place of Golden Tate, Cooter said Riddick's ability to pick up concepts quickly and his high football IQ is an asset in the slot. He'll continue to get reps there moving forward, along with TJ Jones.
