Joe's 2011 Gameday Recap: Bears 39, Vikings 10

On a night where the Bears had everything to lose, they stood together as a team and mercilessly pummeled the Vikings on their way to their third win of the season. Chicago’s front four battered the hapless Donovan McNabb while Cutler and the offense played keep-away and Devin Hester continued to lay claim to his “Greatest Return Man of All Time” status.

(3-3) Chicago Bears 39
(1-5) Minnesota Vikings 10

Before anyone else, Chicago’s defense really made its stand against Adrian Peterson. Lovie Smith stacked the box against the Vikings on first and second down, holding Peterson to only 39 yards on 12 carries. That forced the ball in Donovan McNabb’s hands, where it consistently landed short of the receiver or the first down marker, either way it didn’t matter to the Bears. They just want to get off the field. Minnesota’s offense never found its spark, though back-up Christian Ponder did relieve McNabb in the second half. That was after the Bears knocked McNabb around, sacking the veteran five times on the night. Julius Peppers notched two sacks of his own and dominated Charles Johnson throughout the game, bad knee and all.

After getting a three-and-out on the Vikings’ first drive, Chicago’s offense took the field and in three plays found themselves ahead on the scoreboard. A 17 yard toss to Roy Williams was succeeded by a play-action throw to Devin Hester that found its mark for a 48-yard touchdown. After punting on their next drive, the Bears got a lift on defense as rookie Stephen Paea and Brian Urlacher met at McNabb in the endzone for the safety. After the free kick, Matt Forte and Williams combined to set the Bears up at the three yard line, where Marion Barber found a ginormous opening to put the Bears up 16-0 in the first quarter. From there, it was nearly all downhill for Minnesota. A badly-missed Ryan Longwell field goal allowed Cutler to take the offense down 39 yards, giving Gould the chance to drill a 51-yarder.

Chicago’s lone turnover of the night came in the second half on a rush from Jared Allen, who found Cutler in the backfield and forced a fumble. Minnesota took that field position and turned it into seven points off a Peterson score, his only highlight of the night. At 26-10, the Vikings could have made it interesting… but Devin Hester made sure that never happened, taking the ensuing kick return 98 yards for the TD, pushing the lead to 33-10. To their credit, the Vikings tried to respond but McNabb was buried twice by Peppers and Amobi Okoye, which shockingly giving Devin another try on a punt return, which he returned to the Minnesota 38. Cutler led the offense to the goal line with a pinpoint throw to Kellen Davis near the goal line. A dropped ball by Sanzenbacher led to a Robbie Gould 26-yard field goal, but the momentum continued to propel the Bears onto a much-needed victory.

Cutler looked great for the second straight week, making good reads at the line of scrimmage, hitting his open receivers, and pulling off great play-fakes. He got plenty of help from an aggressive offensive line that owned the Viking front four on every play. Aside from the strip-sack, Minnesota barely sniffed Cutler’s jersey. Matt Forte kept the ground game going with 87 yards on only 17 carries but was thankfully spelled in garbage time by Marion Barber. It was nice to see Martz with an offensive gameplan that actually succeeded in keeping Cutler off the turf. I’ll hold onto this memory before he inevitably reverts to “Mad Genius” status next week.

Chicago had a few mishaps on the night, but nothing that ever came back to haunt them. Hester, Spaeth and Williams each had a drop on key passes. Fullback Tyler Clutts fumbled the ball off a pass reception that bounced into a Viking’s hands as he slid out of bounds. It was ruled Chicago ball, but it was close enough that it should have warranted another look from Leslie Frasier. Still, there are always low-lights for any team.

Other Notes of Note

-Christian Ponder didn’t look half bad. He needs to get the start in the Vikings next game.

-Getting McNabb’s mother to leave her seat due to the non-stop sackage was so EPIC.

-Julius Peppers didn’t look so “doubtful” to me. Just saying.

When the offense, defense, and special teams come together as they did Sunday night, it’s going to be tough to take down these Bears. They needed to bounce back in a huge way and they didn’t disappoint, slapping around a division rival. To be honest, the Vikings are a bad team that may not win four games the entire year, so let’s not lose our collective heads yet.

Oh eff that noise. Cutler for President! Bear Down and Happy Jay Cutler Day!