Bears at Vikings: Run Adrian, Run

To get you ready for Week 15, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Bears/Vikings preview.

2007 Records:

Minnesota Vikings: 7-6 (2nd in NFC North)
Chicago Bears: 5-8 (4th in NFC North)

Last Week:

Vikings 27, 49ers 7
Redskins 24, Bears 16

Why We Care: When these two teams faced off earlier this season we got to watch Adrian Peterson and Devin Hester put on a show for the ages. Peterson had 224 yards including several long runs, while Hester returned a punt for one touchdown and caught a pass for another. If this game can be half as entertaining as that one was, it will be one of the best Monday night games of the year. And if Minnesota wins, it will be very close to wrapping up a playoff spot.


When the Bears have the ball: This is a bad situation for Chicago. With Mr. Neck Beard, aka Kyle Orton, filling in for the injured Rex Grossman and Brian Griese, the Bears would likely want to run the ball to take some pressure off of him. But it's nearly impossible to run against the Vikings and their two tons of Williamses (Pat and Kevin) at defensive tackle. The Bears have had some success with a no-huddle offense recently, which would make sense to run against the oversized Vikings, but that would involve trusting the inexperienced Orton to run it.

When the Vikings have the ball: A Tampa-2 defense isn't a good fit to face the Vikings. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher needs to be focused on stopping Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, but if he gets too focused on the Vikings running game, he'll be caught out of position when the Vikes go to play-action passes. Tarvaris Jackson isn't asked to do a whole lot, but the Vikings quarterback has shown an improved ability to throw accurately and make good decisions in recent weeks. A week after he was held to three yards expect to see Peterson go wild again in prime time.

The Edge: Thanks to the injuries this is Minnesota's game to win. When these two teams faced early in the season Chicago was the team in control, but last year's NFC champs have fallen apart while Minnesota is playing better and better as the season goes along. For Chicago to win, the defense will have to step up and force Jackson into mistakes.