Sunday night’s battle for first place completely reversed direction over the course of five consecutive plays. The Chicago Bears, up 7-3, had first-and-goal inside the five-yard line of the Vikings and looked ready to take a 14-3 lead in what could be a defining game of their season. Following an incompletion over the middle to Greg Olsen, a Matt Forte run off left tackle, a Jason Davis run up the middle, and a Forte run up the middle, the Bears turned the ball over on downs. On the very next play, Gus Frerotte found ex-Bear Bernard Berrian on the sideline behind broken Charles Tillman coverage for a 99-yard touchdown pass. Minnesota went up 10-7 and proceeded to humiliate the “Mediocre of the Midway” for the rest of the night.
You knew Kyle Orton would have another bad game this season. I don’t mean one of those 15 for 31, 130 yards and no touchdown or interception games either. Kyle completed only 11 of his 29 attempts with two touchdowns. His streak of pass attempts without an interception extended to 205 through the first half, but that streak ended violently after halftime. Through a stretch of only seven attempts, Orton threw three interceptions, all of which can be placed squarely on Kyle’s poor decision-making. Matt Forte ran the ball 22 times for 96 yards, which is solid output against a defense that makes its living off of stopping the run. Forte still didn’t have a legitimate back-up, with Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe adding only one carry apiece. Kevin Jones was not even active for this contest, making it all but certain he won’t be re-signed in the off-season. The biggest issue besides Orton’s interceptions was the sloppy play of the wide receivers and tight ends. Too many times they were hit in stride by Orton passes and failed to bring in the catch. Hester and Olsen each had throws hit them in the hands or arm but couldn’t focus on making the reception amidst tight coverage. When your best playmakers can’t get the ball in their hands, it proves to be problematic. Chicago’s offense never really asserted itself in this one, scoring two touchdowns, one in the first and the other in the third quarter. Hester claimed one of those scores, burning three Viking defensive backs on his way to a 65 yard play to the end zone. It was one of the few impressive feats the Bears managed. Defensive end Jared Allen accounted for all of Minnesota’s 3 sacks, beating left tackle John St. Clair on a routine basis with his speed. It wasn’t pretty. (Neither is Jared Allen’s mullet. Have you seen this atrocity? He’s balding, has the bulk of his head buzzed, but with this area at the back of his head that’s grown out. I can’t really look at it.)
Just as ugly was the Bears’ play on defense. Alex Brown and Tommie Harris each sacked Gus Frerotte early, giving a false impression that they would be able to pressure the Vikings QB into mistakes. Frerotte wasn’t called on to win the game for Minnesota, as Adrian Peterson and the running game lit up the Bears defense for 178 total yards. Peterson’s share was 131, with 59 of those yards coming on one run to set up a Vikings field goal that got them on the board. Chester Taylor got in on the big play fun in the third quarter with a 21 yard run to pay-dirt. Those offensive plays, along with Berrian’s 99 yard grab, led to 17 Vikings points. Corner Corey Graham, filling in for the injured Nathan Vasher, totaled 9 tackles on the night, and played relatively well in pass coverage. Taylor and Berrian were the only Vikings to have more than 2 pass receptions, each nabbing four. You can’t fault the pass defense too much, since freak plays are going to happen. Aside from the 99-yarder, which was obviously a blown assignment by Tillman, coverage was tight on the receivers, and they only allowed Minnesota to convert on 5 of 17 third downs.
Protecting against the big play was the Bears’ weakness, a contrast to the normal issue of getting “dinked and dunked” on. We all knew Adrian Peterson was good for 100 yards and a touchdown, so it was up to Lovie Smith and the coaching staff to game-plan for the other Vikings that could be a threat. Letting Berrian get that wide open could have been avoided with the right coverage downfield, but the Bears were too concerned with getting pressure at the one-yard line. The other coaching error was the play-calling at the goal line. Running consecutive plays aimed right at the “Williams Wall” was simply arrogant and should have never happened. Any offense should know you go away from the defense’s strength. The Vikings are built to stop runs up the middle, so why try it when it matters most? This is another example of Lovie Smith’s stubbornness infecting his coaching staff. It’s an epidemic that needs to cease.
After this embarrassment, the 6-6 Chicago Bears are still only one game back of the 7-5 Vikings in the NFC North and one game ahead of the 5-7 Packers. Minnesota’s final three games are against playoff threats while Chicago’s next four contests pit them versus opponents that aren’t going to see the post-season. If the Bears can pull out three of their next four, they could be right back in the driver’s seat come January. Of course, that will depend on which Bears team decides to show up to each game down the stretch. I’m not holding my breath.
