CHICAGO – With a share of first place in the NFC North on the line Sunday at Soldier Field, the Bears picked the perfect time to play what was likely their most complete game of the season.
Outperforming the Minnesota Vikings on offense, defense and special teams, the Bears cruised to a 27-13 win that enabled them to tie the idle Green Bay Packers atop the division with identical 6-3 records.
“We’re in first place in our division, and that’s our goal,” said coach Lovie Smith. “This was a big game. In order for us to hopefully be the champs of our division, you have to beat the [two-time defending] champs, so it was a big win for us.”
Operating a balanced offense for the second straight week, Jay Cutler completed 22 of 35 passes for 237 yards with three touchdowns, two interceptions and an 87.4 passer rating. Cutler also contributed a 25-yard scramble as the Bears rushed for 130 yards on 38 carries.
“Offensively, I felt like we had control of the game most of the time,” Smith said. “We had a few turnovers that knocked us back a little bit. But for the most part we did about what we set out to do.”
Cutler completed passes to nine different receivers, including touchdown throws to tight ends Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis and wide receiver Devin Hester.
“Jay did a great job of distributing the ball to all the receivers, and they made plays,” Smith said. “It seemed like time after time someone else would come up with a big play.”
That was certainly the case on defense as the Bears generated a season-high four takeaways— including three second-half interceptions of Brett Favre—and held Adrian Peterson to just 51 yards on 17 carries, his lowest output in seven career games against Chicago.
“On the defensive side of the ball, it is about taking the ball away, and the guys really did a super job of that,” said Smith, whose team leads the NFL with 24 takeaways this season.
Hester scored his first offensive touchdown since Week 2 and nearly got into the end zone on special teams, returning a kickoff 68 yards and a punt 42 yards in electrifying fashion. Sunday marked the first time all season that he was utilized on kickoff returns.
“It felt pretty good back there,” Hester said. “My teammates were kind of excited to see me back there, trying to give me a little inspiration and a little motivation and I wanted to please them.”
The Bears dominated Sunday’s game on third down, converting 11-of-19 opportunities on offense (58 percent) and limiting the Vikings to just 1-of-9 (11 percent).
"This was probably as good a three-phase performance that our team has had I would probably say all season," Olsen said. "All in all, it was a good team win."
After Ryan Longwell’s 36-yard field goal had given Minnesota a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter, the Vikings failed to convert the first of safety Husain Abdullah’s two interceptions when Longwell hit the left upright on a 39-yard attempt.
Cutler then gave the Bears a 7-3 lead with a 17-yard TD strike to Olsen on third-and-14 midway through the second quarter. The score came one play after Cutler’s apparent 10-yard TD pass to Olsen was nullified by a holding penalty against center Olin Kreutz.
The Vikings responded as Favre stepped up in the pocket and fired a laser beam down the right sideline to Percy Harvin for a 53-yard TD, giving Minnesota a 10-7 lead with 3:17 left in the second quarter.
But Rashied Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to the Minnesota 49, setting up Cutler’s 19-yard TD pass to Hester with :44 remaining in the half. Beating a blitz, Cutler flipped the ball short over the middle to Hester, who dove into the end zone.
On the second play of the third quarter, Israel Idonije and D.J. Moore teamed up for a pass deflection and interception just as they had three weeks earlier against the Washington Redskins. This time, Moore returned the pick three yards to the Minnesota 10, setting up a Robbie Gould 34-yard field goal that widened the margin to 17-10.
After Longwell’s 33-yarder closed the gap to 17-13, Hester’s 68-yard kickoff return led to Gould’s 37-yard field goal, making it 20-13.
The Bears scored the game’s final points midway through the fourth quarter when Cutler tossed a 19-yard TD pass to a wide open Kellen Davis after executing a perfect play-action fake on third-and-one.
“Basically it was get a hard run fake and get the linebackers to bite up,” said Davis, who dunked the ball over the goal post after scoring a TD on his first catch of the season. “It worked just like we drew it up, so it was great.”
The Bears defense closed the game with a flourish as Chris Harris and Lance Briggs intercepted Favre passes on Minnesota’s final two possessions.
“We were able to play the run fairly well and get them into the passing game,” Smith said. “Once you get a team where they are one-dimensional, it’s tough for them to come back.”
The Bears won’t have much time to celebrate Sunday’s critical win, not with a road game against the Miami Dolphins Thursday night next up on the schedule.
“We’re in first place, so we like that,” Kreutz said. “We know that when you win these games, the next one becomes bigger. We’re going to try to get ready for Thursday. We’ll try to enjoy this one for about two hours, I guess, and then get on to the next game.”
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