18 Dec 10 Chicago Bears vs. the Minnesota Vikings Game Review

Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesThe 3-5 Minnesota Vikings travelled to Soldier Field to take on the 5-3 Chicago Bearslast Sunday afternoon in a game that promised to be good one. The Bears had been doing things much better on offense since the second half of their game against the Redskins a few weeks back. However, beatingthe Buffalo Bills the week before, the weakest team in the NFL, hadn’t proven much.The Vikings had many problems coming into this game and by the time it started, both wide receivers Sidney Rice and Reebok Dallas Cowboys #82 Jason Witten Realtree camo Jersey
Bernard Berrian were on the sidelines. Could the Vikings win this game and keep their slim playoff hopes alive or were the Bears primed to beat the Vikings and continue on a path towards the playoffs.It ended up being the latter as the Bears stymied the Vikings last few remaining playoff hopes by beating them 27-13. This was a well-played game for the Bears and a much needed win to help them keep up with the Packers and hold a share of the lead in the NFC North.Scoring SummaryThe Vikings got the first score of the game after the Bear’s defense shut them out of the end zone on their first drive of the game after it appeared as if Minnesota was going to go in and score a touchdown. They held the Vikings to a 36-yard field goal to make it 3-0 early.In the second quarter, after the Vikings Ryan Longwell missed a field goal, the Bears took over and drove down the field to go up by four after quarterback Jay Cutler hit tight end Greg Olsen for a 17-yard score. Are you surprised the Bears won this game?Are you surprised the Bears won this game?Yes17.0%No83.0%Total votes: 88The Vikings wouldn’t go without a score for too long and they would go up 10-7 after quarterback Brett Favre hit wide receiver, Percy Harvin, for a 53 yard score. Chicago would answer on the next drive after a nice kickoff return by wide receiver Rashied Davis to give the Bears good field position. Even though they had several penalties on the drive, the Bears still managed to take the ball down the field to score. Their score came after Cutler hit wide receiver Devin Hester for a 19-yard touchdown to put the Bears up 14-10 heading into halftime.The Vikings turned the ball over after Favre had a tipped pass intercepted by cornerback, D.J. Moore. The Bears turned it into three points on a 34-yard field goal by kicker, Robbie Gould, to make it 17-10.Following a long pass-interference penalty, the Vikings got a 33-yard Longwell field goal to bring them to within four and make it 17-13. The Bears, following a great return by Hester, would add three on a 37-yard field goal by Gould to make it 20-13. The Bears would make it a two-possession game after Cutler tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to little used tight end Kellen Davis to make it 27-13 in the fourth quarter. That is how the game would end.Stud of the GameIt’s hard to find any one single guy that stuck out in this game because most everyone did a good job, but you have to give a lot of credit to Hester in this game. Not only did he catch a touchdowns pass, but he also had a lot of return yards in this game and those return yards helped the Bears get good field position and win this game. Without his returns in the second half, the Bears might have lost this game.Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesDud of the GameThere is no one really to find at fault in this game, unless you dig deep and even though he did a good job at blocking for the most part, J’Marcus Webb had some critical penalties at critical times during the game and could have cost the Bears some points. He settled down in the second half and was much more disciplined but he struggled to start the game. Hopefully he gets better.AnalysisDepending on who you read or Reebok Dallas Cowboys #9 Tony Romo Realtree camo Jersey
talked to before this game, the Bears either had a chance to win this game or didn’t. There were many people that felt that Favre would be able to use his “magic” to bring the Vikings back towards the playoffs and beat the Bears on their way to a miracle turnaround. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as Minnesota was clearly outplayed by the Bears in this game.It is clear that the Bears have been working hard in practice to scale back the offense, improve their blocking and make sure that Cutler doesn’t make a lot of mistakes (despite the fact the threw two picks one wasn’t his fault). With the offensive line blocking much better than they have for a better part of the season, the receivers running better routes and the running game working, things are finally starting to come together for the Bears.The Bears did many things right in this game. Running the ball was something they had to do and they did that. They kept the passing game going using short quick drops and roll-outs and that worked very well. The offensive line kept Cutler upright (only one sack allowed) and this has made things run so much smoother for the Bears.Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesWith the offense finally getting going the Bears defense is capable of playing much better as well because they don’t have to spend so much time on the field (because the offense was unable to keep a hold of the ball and could not convert third down opportunities). That keeps them fresh and ready to go during the game and we saw what a fresh and rested Bears defense could do this past Sunday.Chicago’s defense keyed in on the Vikings running game and shut it down which was a huge piece of the puzzle in winning this game. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had torn Chicago up in the past (and even when the Bears contained him he still managed to score touchdowns in short yardage situation) and the Bears kept him under wraps and didn’t allow him to pile up the yards or the touchdowns. Their tackling was very good and they didn’t allow him to break into the secondary and gain a lot of yards.The Bears pass coverage was also pretty good for the most part. They did have some key pass interference penalties that helped the Vikings get the ball down the field but they tightened things up and played pretty well after those penalties. They covered the short passes very well and were able to keep receivers from catching the Reebok Denver Broncos #15 Tim Tebow Realtree camo Jersey
ball at times. Of course, the Bears secondary also got some turnovers which helped them out greatly.We can’t go on much further in this without talking about Hester and his play on special teams. He put the Bears' offense in great field position throughout the game and showed everyone where he belongs. The only mystery here is why the Vikings kept on kicking to Hester. It made many wonder if the Vikings thought that they were much better than they were on special teams? At any rate, they got burned badly by Hester. Perhaps this will serve notice to other teams not to kick to him and provide the Bears with good field position that way as.Next UpThe Bears will have a short week as they will travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins this Thursday night. A full preview of this game will be coming in the next two days.