The Vikings headed into Soldier Field Sunday with feeling extremely confident after overcoming a two touchdown deficit and defeating the Arizona Cardinals in overtime. A win over the Bears would have kept the Vikings a player in the NFC North and still in the hunt for a playoff spot, despite multiple heart-wrenching losses early in the season. Instead, mistakes reigned and turnovers conquered the Vikings as the Bears handled Minnesota by a score of 27-13.
Although quarterback Brett Favre accounted for four turnovers, he was really only responsible for one of them- a fumble towards the end of the end of the second half. Receivers fell down on two of his throws, leading to two interceptions at crucial times in the fourth quarter. Receivers Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian were inactive for the game, leaving Favre to rely heavily on Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe and a who's who of mediocre pass-catchers. Like he has all season, Favre put everything he had on the field, throwing for 170 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions that for the most part weren't his fault. Peterson's inability to get anything started in the run game made things more difficult for Favre, who already had to deal with an offensive line blocking against a talented defensive line. Peterson struggled all day, with his play of the day being a 20-yard run. He ended the day with 51 yards on 17 carries. Peterson's backup Toby Gerhart had a much better afternoon, averaging 5 yards-a-carry and catching two passes out of the backfield for 17 yards. Much was expected out of the rookie from Stanford this season, and although he had 20 total rushing yards he made several positive plays on a day the team's superstar could rarely make it past the line of scrimmage. More often then not the Vikings are successful when Peterson is successful, and had Peterson been able to find some holes in the offensive line the results would likely have been much different. The turnovers in the fourth quarter didn't help, either.
The Vikings defense could not control Jay Cutler and the Bears offense for the majority of the day. Bears play-makers Johnny Knox, Devin Hester and Greg Olsen were impossible to cover for the Vikings. Olsen, the team's tight end, had a touchdown reception called back in the second quarter only to find end zone success on the very next play. The Vikings defensive line went back to its dormant state after finally waking up in the fourth quarter of last week's game against Arizona. Jared Allen did have a sack, but more was expected from the pass rush against a less-than-stellar Chicago offensive line. Although the defense forced him out of the pocket several times, Cutler was able to able to escape what should have been easy sacks and gathered 24 yards on the ground with his runs. The Vikings tried blitzing, but that only left Cutler with fewer defenders covering, or trying to cover, his suddenly Pro Bowl targets. He was able to find any opening he wanted down the field and connected with three different receivers for touchdowns. One bright spot for the Vikings pass defense was the play of safety Husain Abdullah. Abdullah, who has started every game this year, had two interceptions Sunday to go with six tackles and two pass deflections. The safeties have really struggled this year for the Vikings, but Abdullah worked his role extremely well. The run defense did a better job but still gave up more than 100 yards. However, 24 of them came when Cutler decided to leave the pocket and scramble. Running backs Matt Forte and Chester Taylor each averaged under four yards a carry, and neither were able to find the end zone. At the end of the day, it was the inability for the Vikings to get to Jay Cutler that cost them this ball game. His short, quick throws went untouched throw Vikings coverage, allowing the Bears to convert an unacceptable 11 of 19 third downs, while Minnesota was a mere 1 for 9 in opportunities.
Another week, another chance blown to put themselves back into playoff relevancy. It is quite safe to say that if the Vikings will be playing for pride the rest of the season if they don't win at home next Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. It doesn't look like the Vikes are going to fix this "how to get to that sneaky quarterback" puzzle anytime soon, so it looks like skilled Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers will have another big day on a defense that has an underwhelming 13 total sacks on the season. The Vikings offense will have to keep the pace against a defense led by Clay Matthews, who has been a terror off the edge this season. The Packers passing attack in addition to Matthews rushing does not bode well for a lackluster pair of lines for the Minnesota Vikings. Don't hold your breath.
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