Week 13 Game Recap: Minnesota Vikings 13, Chicago Bears 23

What you need to know

Minnesota Vikings

QB Brad Johnson had an abysmal performance, finishing the game 11 for 26 for 73 yards and four interceptions before being pulled by in favor of backup QB Brooks Bollinger with three minutes to play in the third quarter. Johnson and the Minnesota offense squandered four Chicago first half turnovers and were only able to produce three points in the half. Things went from bad to worse for Johnson in the second half when he threw a pass into the arms of Bears’ defender Ricky Manning who returned the ball 54 yards for a touchdown. On the very next play from scrimmage for the Vikings, Johnson threw another pick to LB Brian Urlacher. Johnson was benched after his fourth interception of the game.

QB Brooks Bollinger led the Vikings on an 89 yard touchdown drive on his second series of the game. Bollinger was knocked out of the game on the Vikings’ next drive of the game when he was sacked by Bears’ DE Adewale Ogunleye. Bollinger left with what appeared to be a shoulder or collarbone injury, and finished the game seven for nine for 70 yards. But Bollinger played well in limited action and was more effective moving the offense then Johnson.

RB Chester Taylor was on pace to have a very nice game as he had 99 yards on 17 carries in a little over two quarters of action, but had to leave the game in the third quarter because of a apparent rib injury. Taylor was replaced by RB Ciatrick Fason who played very well in relief rushing or 75 yards on 11 carries, including a four yard touchdown run late in the game.

Chicago Bears

Special teams and defense won the game for the Bears as they accounted for 16 of the 23 points the Bears scored in the game. Devin Hester returned a punt 45 yards for touchdown in the second quarter, and he tied an NFL record with his fourth touchdown return of the season. In the second half, the Bears defense returned an interception for touchdown and also recorded a safety.

QB Rex Grossman didn’t play much better then his counterpart QB Brad Johnson, as he finished the game with his own dismal statistics by going 6 for 19 for 34 yards and three interceptions. In fact, Grossman struggled so much that his quarterback rating was 0.0 after the first three quarters of the game, and he finished the game with a rating of 1.3. Once again Grossman had trouble protecting the ball and the defense had to step up with another dominating performance. He only led the offense to one touchdown and that came on 24 yard run following a Minnesota turnover. A disappointing performance considering Minnesota came into the game second to last in passing yards allowed and had given up over 1,000 yards passing in there last three games.

RB Thomas Jones and RB Cedric Benson split carries through most of the game. Benson had the better game by gaining 60 yards on nine carries. His biggest play of the game was a 24 yard touchdown run on a fourth and one play in which he dived to get the ball across the goal line. Benson and Jones combined for a respectable 92 yards against the number one rush defense in the league that was allowing only 56 yards a contest coming into this game.

What you ought to know

QB Brad Johnson, Pass: 11 - 26 - 73 - 0 TD / 4 INT, Rush: 3 - 3 - 0

Johnson had a poor first half by going eight for 17 for 39 yards in the first half. He and the Vikings offense got the ball in great field position when the Bears fumbled the initial kickoff of the game. But they squandered this opportunity and the offense went three and out, and had to punt the ball. This pretty much set the tone for Johnson in the game as he struggled to move the ball on offense. He threw a bad interception on the second series of the game when he floated a ball over the head of his intended target. Late in the first half, Johnson missed Marcus Robinson deep down the sideline for what could have been a big play for the Vikings. It was first and only deep ball attempted by Johnson in the game. Even though the Bears turned the ball over four times in the first half, Johnson and the passing game were totally ineffective and were unable to capitalize on good field position several times.

Johnson was supposed to be a game manger for the Vikings, but was a game mismanager as his three interceptions killed the Vikings’ offense in the second half. Johnson’s second interception of the game wasn’t his fault as he attempted to hit a wide open Jeff Dugan. Dugan had the ball hit him in the chest and deflect up in the air for an interception. This was a big play since the Vikings would have had the ball inside the Bears 30 yard line had he caught it and the game was still close. His third interception would be his fault and would cost the Vikings seven points. He threw a ball right to Ricky Manning and Manning took the ball 46 yards for a touchdown. On the very next play, he threw a careless interception to Brian Urlacher. Johnson was benched after his fourth interception in the game for backup Brooks Bollinger. Johnson was not only careless with the ball but he was very inaccurate on his passes as many of his throws were behind receivers and he had trouble hitting receivers in full stride even when they were wide open.

QB Brooks Bollinger, Pass: 7 - 9 - 70 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Bollinger came in for Brad Johnson after he threw his fourth interception in the game. Bollinger looked good and poised in the pocket as he lead the Vikings down the field for a touchdown on his second series of the game going seven of eight for 70 yards. It was the Vikings’ most impressive drive of the game by far. Late in the game Bollinger was sacked off his blind side by Adewale Ogunleye and it appeared he hurt his non-throwing left shoulder. Bollinger did not return to the game and was replaced by rookie Tarvaris Jackson. Depending on how severe Bollinger’s injury was in the game, he played well enough in his short time on the field to cause a quarterback controversy, as Brad Johnson was totally ineffective in the game.

QB Tarvaris Jackson, Pass: 3 - 4 - 35 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0

Jackson came into the game with about two minutes left in the game because of an injury to number two quarterback Brooks Bollinger. Jackson didn’t see much action as he went three for four for 35 yards. He saw a lot of pressure for the Bears defensive line and fumbled the ball trying to scramble out of the pocket.

RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 17 - 99 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (5 targets)

Until he was injured, Taylor was the only bright spot on the Vikings’ offense once again as he had 79 yards rushing in the first half against a tough Bears defense. The Bears did a good job bottling up Taylor early in the first half until he broke a big 42 yard run that he bounced out to the left side line early in the second quarter. The play set up Minnesota’s only points, a field goal, in the first half. Taylor left the field late in the first half holding his ribs after falling awkwardly on the football. He came back into the game on the next series for the Vikings.

Early in the third quarter Taylor left the field for the locker room holding his left side again. Taylor did return to the game late in the third quarter for one play, but did not return after that play. It was not clear if Taylor did not come back because of injury or because head coach Brad Childress didn’t want to further risk more injury to Taylor as the game started to get away from the Vikings. Taylor was having a very nice game as he had 99 yards after only a little more then two quarters of play.

RB Ciatrick Fason, Rush: 11 - 75 - 1, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (2 targets)

Fason was able to have a big game because starter Chester Taylor went out of the game in the second half with a rib injury. He got the majority of carries after Taylor left, not Mewelde Moore. After defensive tackle Tommie Harris left the game with an injury in the third quarter, Fason was able to rip off two runs of 13 yards and one for 14 yards in the quarter. He was stopped in the end zone for a safety on the first play in the fourth quarter. It was a bad play by Fason since he had an opportunity to cut the ball up field and avoid the safety, but tried to take the ball outside for a bigger gain was run down in the end zone. Fason finished the game with 75 yards in the game, including a four yard touchdown run toward the end of the game.

RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 3 - 13 - 0, Rec: 5 - 51 - 0 (5 targets)

Moore only had three carries for 13 yards even though Chester Taylor left the game in the second half with a rib injury. Ciatrick Fason got the majority of carries after Taylor went out, but was a big factor in the passing game having five receptions for 51 yards. Moore’s first catch of the game was a big play, he caught a swing pass and took it 24 yards down the side line. A 15 yard penalty was tacked on after the play because of late hit and the ball was spotted at the Bears’ 26 yard line. The play resulted in a Vikings’ field goal.

WR Marcus Robinson, Rec: 5 - 37 - 0 (10 targets)

Robinson had a tough first half as he caught a six yard slant for a first down, but fumbled the ball in the first quarter. Luckily for Robinson, Minnesota recovered the ball. He also had a couple of drops in the half. Robinson made a nice double move along the left side line to get open deep, but Brad Johnson overthrew him on what could have been a very big play. He had only two receptions for 14 yards in the first half.

In the second half, he was a open on a deep fade route late in the game, but Bollinger missed him along the side line on what could have been a another big play because he had beaten his man. Robinson’s only real scoring opportunity came on a seven yard reception that he brought to the Chicago four yard line. He finished the game with five receptions for 37 yards.

WR Billy McMullen, Rec: 3 - 42 - 0 (3 targets)

McMullen finished the game as the Vikings' second leading receiver in the game with three receptions for 42 yards. His biggest catch was a 19 yard reception on a third and two play that put the ball on the Bears 11 yard line. The Vikings scored their only touchdown two plays later.

WR Travis Taylor, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

Taylor was a non-factor in the game. He had no catches or targets in the first half and only caught two passes for nine yards in the second half.

WR Troy Williamson

Williamson was deactivated for this game. He was not on the injury report this week, but the move may have been a disciplinary move by head coach Brad Childress. Williamson was punched in the face by a security guard at fellow teammate Darren Sharper’s charity event last Monday. He has also slipped on the depth chart and lost his staring job last weekend because of his poor play. He saw very little playing time last weekend and clearly the coaches have lost confidence in him.

TE Jermaine Wiggins, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (3 targets)

Wiggins had three catches for 30 yards in the game. His best scoring opportunity came when Brad Johnson attempted a shuffle pass to Wiggins on the Bears’ five yard line, but the Chicago defense stopped him for no gain. Wiggins had a nice 23 yard catch late in the game.

PK Ryan Longwell 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

Longwell made a 23 yard attempt in the second quarter for Minnesota’s first points of the game. He made a 30 yard attempt in the third quarter in windy conditions. Longwell added an extra point also in the game.

MIN Rush Defense

The Bears’ running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson combined for 92 yards in the game against Minnesota’s number one ranked run defense. This was a pretty good performance by the Bears considering the Vikings had only given up 15 yards combined in there last two games on the ground and averaged only 56 yards a game for the season coming into this game.

MIN Pass Defense

Napoleon Harris got an interception early in the game, deep in Minnesota territory. Antoine Winfield and Ben Leber added two more interceptions in the second half. The Vikings’ pass defense had given up big numbers there last couple of games, including a 400 yard passing game to Matt Leinart last week. But they completely shut down Rex Grossman and the Bears’ passing game by holding him to only 34 yards and forcing three interceptions.

QB Rex Grossman, Pass: 6 - 19 - 34 - 0 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 4 - -9 - 0

Grossman played a terrible game and statistically had one of worst games of the season. He threw two interceptions and went a dreadful three of nine for only 22 yards passing in the first half. The game started poorly for Grossman as he threw an interception right to Vikings’ defender Napoleon Harris in the first quarter. His second interception of the half came on the first play of the second quarter as he tried to hit Bernard Berrian deep, but Antonio Winfield intercepted the ball because it was under thrown. The Bears went to a more conservative, run style offense as the first half progressed.

On the first play in the second half, he had a pass deflected and intercepted for his third interception of the game. The Bears’ defense and special teams dominated the game, and the Bears didn’t need Grossman to make plays in the second half. He only attempted 10 passes in the second half for 12 yards. Grossman was not able to protect the ball, as he threw three picks on 19 attempts and the Bears went to a more conservative offense as they seemed to lose faith in there passing game and got up early in the second half. Considering the Vikings were given up the second most passing yards in the league coming into this game, it was a very disappointing game by Grossman.

RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 12 - 32 - 0 (1 targets)

Jones had a very quiet game as he only had 32 yards on 12 carries. Jones’ only big play of the game came on third and two play that he made a nice cut up the middle of the field for a 16 yard run. He split carries with Cedric Benson in the first half and only had 28 yards on five carries. Jones was held to only four yards on seven carries in the second half as Benson was the more effective back in the second half.

RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 9 - 60 - 1

Benson had a decent first half as he had 34 yards on six attempts against a very good rush defense. The Bears attempted to run the ball more after quarterback Rex Grossman tossed two early interceptions in the first half. Running backs Benson and Jones were fairly successful racking up 62 total yards against the number one rush defense who was giving up less then 60 yards a game on the ground coming into this contest. Benson had huge play in the third quarter on a fourth and one play when he bounced the run to the right side line and was able to dive over the goal line on a 24 yard touchdown run.

WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 4 - 21 - 0 (7 targets)

Berrian only had two receptions for 17 yards in the first half. Berrian finished the game with a team high four receptions for 21 yards. He and his fellow receiver’s numbers suffered because of Rex Grossman’s poor play. Berrian had a game high seven targets for the Bears.

WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets)

The Bears tried to go deep to Muhammad early in the game when he had one-on-one coverage but Rex Grossman overthrew him on the play. The Bears receivers were hurt by Grossman’s inconsistent play in the first half and Muhammad only had one catch for five yards. The Bears only attempted nine passes in the first half as Grossman had two early interceptions, and Chicago went to a more conservative offense after the turnovers. Muhammad had no receptions in the second half as Grossman only completed three passes in the second half and only had 12 yards passing.

TE Desmond Clark (3 targets)

Clark had no catches in a game where the team’s passing game was nearly non-existent.

PK Robbie Gould 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points

Gould had no field goal attempts in the game, but did have three extra points in the game.

CHI Rush Defense

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris had to be helped off the field early in the third quarter. He did not return to the game and it was reported that Harris had a left leg injury. The Bears got a safety when they tackled running back Ciatrick Fason in the end zone. It looked like Fason fumbled the ball and Chicago recovered, but he was ruled down. The Bears were given the safety on the play. On the downside, the Vikings racked up 192 yards on the ground against a rush defense was ranked eighth coming into this game.

CHI Pass Defense

Danieal Manning got an interception deep in Minnesota territory in the first quarter. The Bears got good pressure on the quarterback, especially by defensive end Adewale Ogunleye who matched up against backup right tackle Mike Rosenthal. Ogunleye not only generated a lot pressure on the quarterback, but had sack and forced fumble. Ricky Manning had a 54 yard touchdown off a Brad Johnson interception in the third quarter. The Vikings finished the game with 178 yards passing, but did give up three sacks to the Bears.