(Best E Casino) - It's not surprising that the
Chicago Bears' defense gave up a lot of points in this past Sunday's clash with the
Minnesota Vikings, since the team was playing without three of its top defensive backs. What was surprising, however, was that the offense was able to counter with enough points to win.
Chicago began its tilt against Minnesota minus Nathan Vasher, who missed his third straight game due to a wrist injury. Meanwhile, fellow corner Charles Tillman (shoulder) and nickel back Danieal Manning (hamstring) both sat out the contest after suffering injuries the previous week.
That left Corey Graham and Trumaine McBride as Chicago's starting corners, while rookie Zackary Bowman also saw time for an undermanned squad that allowed the Vikings to post 41 points, the most the Bears had allowed since Week 12 of the 2004 season. Luckily for Chicago, the Kyle Orton-led offense helped the team notch seven points more in the 48-41 victory.
"Injuries are just part of the game, but you have to be ready," said McBride, who made nine starts in his rookie year last season.
Defensive end Alex Brown, meanwhile, had a much more blunt assessment of the Bears' defensive effort. "Our offense played great and our special teams played great. The defense played horrible, but because of the other two we were able to win."
Brown, though, is being a little hard on the defensive unit. Sure, it allowed the Vikings to post 439 yards of offense, but Chicago picked off Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte four times while also sacking him twice.
"Defensively, takeaways were big," said Bears head coach Lovie Smith. "We talk a lot about getting the ball. When you're moving the ball like that, offensively, you want to get it to them as much as possible. The takeaways were big."
Chicago's special teams pitched in with two touchdowns, one coming off a blocked punt and the other on a muffed punt return by the Vikings. Bowman, who also had a key interception in the win, recovered the mishandled punt for one of the scores.
However, the big story was the play of Orton, who threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns. His solid play helped the Bears put up their most points in a single game since they also scored 48 in a Week 14 victory back in 1986.
"We were banged up, obviously, on defense," said Orton. "We just needed to score one more than they did. We go into a game thinking we need to score 40 to win, but it usually doesn't happen that way."
This is the type of game that can go a long way in building confidence for Orton, who beat out Rex Grossman in training camp for the starting gig. Orton, a fourth-round pick in 2005 who started 15 games a rookie before spending all of 2006 as the third QB, has thrown for 1,669 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions this season, and had by far one of his best games of the year versus the Vikings. His 114.5 passer rating on Sunday was his second- highest in a single game this season.
The Bears decided Orton was the better play than the mistake-prone Grossman, who threw 20 interceptions in leading Chicago to the Super Bowl in 2006 before throwing another seven picks in eight games a year ago.
"He's played well," Smith said of Orton. "When you name a guy your starting quarterback you expect big things from him. We were and we always will expect big things from him, and he's producing. It seems like each week he takes another step and that's what you like to see."
Orton has guided the Bears to a 2-0 division record so far this year and a 4-3 overall mark that has Chicago tied with Green Bay for first place in the NFC North.
UP NEXT: Chicago's secondary will try to get healthy this week, as the club is on its bye. The Bears then host Detroit the following weekend, the second meeting between the teams this year.
PACKERS: AGAINST THE WALL, DEFENSE COMES UP BIG
It's kind of funny that one of Green Bay's best defensive efforts came against a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback and without two of its top defenders. In the first year of the post-Brett Favre era, it has been that kind of season for the Packers.
Those factors certainly didn't foreshadow a potential big win. Green Bay was minus corner Al Harris (lacerated spleen) and safety Atari Bigby (hamstring), not good considering the defense was going up against Peyton Manning.
However, the Packers picked off Manning twice and held the Colts quarterback without a touchdown throw in Sunday's 34-14 win, the fewest points Green Bay has allowed all season.
"I thought our secondary did a very good job," said Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. "And anytime you don't have starters like Atari and Al Harris, that's definitely an opportunity for other players to step up. It doesn't help when you have starters out, no doubt. But I thought our players did a very good job of that, stepping up."
Those who stepped up included Aaron Rouse and Nick Collins. Both picked off Manning and returned their respective interceptions to the end zone, including Rouse's franchise record-tying 99-yard return. That matched Tim Lewis' 99-yard touchdown runback set against the Rams on November 18, 1984.
"All I saw was green in front of me," said Rouse. "Once I saw that real estate, I'm going to go and get it, nobody was going to catch me."
The victory was Green Bay's second in a row following a three-game slide, and at 4-3, the Packers are tied with Chicago for first place in the division heading into their bye week.
The Packers countered Manning and the Colts by going with a nickel defense on Sunday, something McCarthy said helped Green Bay with its matchups. It also allowed the Packers to keep the Colts out of rhythm.
"That's the type of defense we are. We're trying to give up no points," said Collins. "It doesn't matter who we're playing, we just want to go out there and play four quarters."
The victory was Green Bay's fifth straight against an AFC opponent and halted Indianapolis' 13-game winning streak in October.
UP NEXT: Like the Bears, the Packers will try to rest up and get healthy during their bye. Green Bay will then hit the road for two straight, starting with a test against currently unbeaten Tennessee.
VIKINGS: NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT LATEST LOSS
Though they entered Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings had not looked like a team ready to challenge for a division title.
Sure, the team had won two games in a row, but there was still cause for concern. The Vikings managed just 12 points against the winless Detroit Lions two weeks ago, the fourth time in six games Minnesota had been held under 20 points.
So the Vikings did what they could to put their offensive doubters to rest by posting 41 points against the Bears. Only problem was, it wasn't enough in a 48-41 setback.
Minnesota has lacked fundamentals throughout this year. From running back Adrian Peterson's battle with fumble-itis to Tarvaris Jackson failing to resemble a quarterback early in the season, it seems the Vikings have been doing enough to make sure they fail to put opponents away.
Then came Sunday's loss to the Bears, when Minnesota's special teams unit accounted for two big plays that resulted in 14 points for Chicago. The first seven came when punter Chris Kluwe had a punt blocked that the Bears returned 17 yards for a score.
Bounces continued to go against the Vikings in the second quarter, as returner Charles Gordon decided to allow a Chicago punt to hit the ground, hoping it would roll into the end zone. Gordon moved up on the play to block a Chicago tackler, only to see the ball bounce and hit him. The Bears then recovered in the end zone for a score.
"That's a football bounce," said head coach Brad Childress. "(Gordon) was trying to block the gunner. He gives up that right if he signals for a fair catch. Unfortunately, that ball took a football bounce and the net result was a touchdown."
The Vikings' poor play will likely keep Childress in hot water as the restless fans in Minnesota continue to call for his job. Another knock against Childress' club, besides the poor special teams' play, was that Minnesota was unable to post a win despite 121 rushing yards and two scores by Peterson.
Despite the loss, the Vikings are trying to take positives out of the game, citing the high offensive output as evidence the team can still make this season a successful one. Peterson insists the club isn't quitting just yet.
"Anytime you make a play on special teams -- our guys made a great block -- it switches the momentum back and forth, he said. "But it's all about how you're going to react to that. We stayed in it, we reacted good."
It was also an interesting day for Vikings wideout Bernard Berrian, who spent his first four NFL seasons with Chicago before joining Minnesota as a free agent. Berrian made six catches for 81 yards with a touchdown catch in his return to Soldier Field, an environment that showered him with boos.
"Fans are going to be fans, they're going to boo," said Berrian. "That is not going to affect my play. I'm going to come out and play the way I need to play and prepare for a game. We just wish we could have won this game and just put the icing on the cake."
UP NEXT: The Vikings are another team in the NFC North to enjoy their bye this weekend. Minnesota will then try to rebound with two straight home games, beginning with a test versus the Houston Texans on November 2.
LIONS: BEGIN REBUILDING PHASE
Dan Orlovsky had a simple answer when asked how you get the ball to wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
"Throw it to him," the Detroit Lions quarterback said.
That's apparently easier said then done for the Lions, who fell behind by three touchdowns en route to a 28-21 defeat at the hands of the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Johnson made just two catches, but one went 96 yards for a score. He ended with 154 total receiving yards.
"A couple of (reasons) was coverage rolled to him a couple times," said head coach Rod Marinelli when asked why Johnson had so few passes thrown his way. "A couple times our protection broke down. But I know we have to get the ball to him more."
That is a strategy the Lions will be going with for years to come after trading away its other starting wideout, former No. 1 draft pick Roy Williams, to Dallas for a handful of draft picks last week.
From here on out, it will be the 2005 fifth-round draft pick Orlovsky that will be trying to get the ball to Johnson, the club's first-round pick in 2007. Orlovsky, who made just his second career start on Sunday and threw for 265 yards on 12-of-25 passing, will be auditioning for the club's starting gig for next year with Jon Kitna landing on injured reserve due to an ailing back.
"I don't know. It's a weird dynamic, but we just have to break it down as players," Orlovsky said of Detroit's slow starts. "I don't know what it is, but it needs to change because when we play, we're pretty good. When you don't play, when no one plays in this league, you're not going to be successful."
Kitna, meanwhile, is reportedly unhappy with how the Lions have handled his injury, making it tough to see him in a Detroit uniform next season.
With Williams now out of town and Kitna shelved for the year, the Lions seem to be back to square one in what has been a decade-long rebuilding process. Despite the seven-point loss, Marinelli said his team showed progress this past weekend.
At 0-6 and no easy games on the schedule, Detroit's goal now should be trying to avoid going winless on the season. That's no easy task when your club ranks near the bottom in both offense and defense.
"We've just got to go do it," said Lions running back Rudi Johnson. "It's just a matter of coming out from the opening whistle (and) first play and just make it happen on all sides of the ball."
Easier said then done.
UP NEXT: The Lions will try to avoid their seventh loss to begin the year when they go up against the 5-2 Washington Redskins this Sunday. Detroit hasn't lost seven straight to start a campaign since it dropped 12 in a row to start the 2001 season. The Lions had won three straight against the Redskins until Washington notched a 34-3 win over Detroit last year. Washington is 26-10 overall against the Lions.
