Minnesota Vikings knock down Chicago Bears with a 21-14 victory – NFL Week 14 Recap
Minnesota Vikings gave another resounding performance to keep up the pace in the playoff race with a 21-14 win over Chicago Bears in Week 14 on Sunday, December 09, 2012, at Mall of America Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It was another astounding performance by running back Adrian Peterson that gave Vikings the victory and a chance to remain in the playoff contention.
On the other hand, Bears continued their drop from the sky as the team have lost four of their last five games after getting a superb 5-2 start to the season.
It was a welcome win for Vikings who came into this game after getting four defeats in previous five games.
Vikings are now standing at ninth place in the National Football Conference (NFC) playoff standings with a 7-6 record.
Meanwhile, Bears are placed in an uncomfortable sixth and last playoff spot in NFC with an 8-5 record.
Vikings got the head start with Peterson putting up more than 100 rushing yards in the first quarter of the game and scoring two crucial touchdowns. According to the Associated Press, Bears head coach Leslie Frazier said:
"You know when you play the Vikings you're going to have to stop Adrian Peterson, and for him to come out and gain 100 yards in the first quarter, just an amazing feat by him."
Peterson finished the game with 31 carries for 154 yards and two scores. He looks on course to finish the season with the milestone figure of 2,000 rushing yards for a season. Giving his views about achieving this feat, Peterson said:
"I think about it, I don't try to think about it too much. I feel like it will happen. It's obvious we're going to continue to run the ball and the chips will fall where they may."
Another superb performance from Peterson saved Vikings from an offensive collapse as quarterback Christian Ponder struggled to pass the ball. Ponder finished the game with woeful 11 of 17 for 91 yards and also threw an interception.
Bears continue to struggle in absence of top players as they played without star linebacker Brian Urlacher who is likely out for the season.
Quarterback Jay Cutler has been unable to put up good performance ever since wide receiver Percy Harvin got injured. He completed 22 out of 44 passes for 260 yards and scored a touchdown.
After getting an early lead with two touchdowns from Peterson, Vikings finished the first quarter with 14-0 lead.
Bears reduced the deficit to seven points with a touchdown from Cutler as the first half ended with 7-14 score line.
Vikings got the game under control in the third quarter with safety Harrison Smith returning an interception for 56 yards to score a touchdown and take the score to 21-7.
Bears backup Quarterback Brandon Marshall replace injured Cutler and scored in the final minutes of the game. Vikings ended up winning the game by 21-14.
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