Despite being sacked a league record 17 times, Chicago Bears quarterback Kyle Orton led the Chicago Bears to 24 unanswered second half points as the Bears kept pace in the increasingly difficult NFC Central Division with a 31-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night football. The Vikings, 1-5, are now five games behind the division leading Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.
The Vikings 12 first half sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries stoked them to a 20-7 halftime lead, spirited by quarterback Donovan McNabb, who threw a touchdown pass to Percy Harvin shortly before halftime to give the Vikings a 20-7 advantage. It was one of four first half completions for McNabb on 13 attempts. He also ran three times for eight yards. Adrian Peterson gained 81 yards on 14 carries and scored the game's opening touchdown on an 8-yard scamper. Peterson finished with 103 yards, his second straight 100 yard effort, after gaining 22 yards on 10 carries in the second half.
Minnesota left points on the field in the first half, three times driving inside the Bears 10 and coming away with but six points. Twice McNabb threw incompletions on third down after the team was victimized by multiple false start and illegal procedure penalties. They were also stopped on fourth-and-one after faking a tight end reverse and handing to fullback Jim Kleinsasser who ran straight ahead into the backs of his offensive line. Adrian Peterson lined up as the tight end on the play and acted as a decoy on the reverse. "We thought we could fool them there," said Vikings coach Leslie Frazier after the game.
The Vikings went 1-of-8 on third down attemps in the second half, compared to 9 of 11 for the Bears.
