Chicago Bears: Creating, Not Giving Up, Big Plays Paces Blowout Win over Vikings

Those who witnessed the Chicago Bears’ 39-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday night may not have said it but certainly thought it at one point or another:

“Who the hell are these Bears and where have they been?”

Following a lackluster showing in the Motor City for Monday Night Football six days prior, the Bears (3-3) were left with more questions than answers as they prepared for the Vikings (1-5) at home.

Somewhere between the trip home from Detroit and Sunday afternoon, it appears as if the entire 53-man roster and coaching staff took swigs from Michael Jordan’s Secret Stuff (yes, that’s a Space Jam reference) and screwed their heads back on straight.

Unexpected flashes of brilliance lit up the Soldier Field turf within the first five minutes as the Bears were able to produce big plays and not surrender them to the opposition.

“Big plays are costly. They kill a defense,” said Bears defensive end Israel Idonije following the win. “First and foremost, we can’t give up any big plays. It was great to just go out there and play fundamental and for everybody to go out run the ball.

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson failed to establish a rhythm all night as the Bears defensive line man-handled him in the backfield. Peterson managed 39 yards on 12 rushes.

Overall, the Vikings were never able to string together big play drives. The most yards Minnesota collected on one play was a 30-yard pass from Donovan McNabb to Bernard Berrian in the second quarter.

Aside from that, the Vikings had just two offensive plays that went for 20 or more yards and they both came in the fourth quarter when McNabb was benched for first-round draft pick Christian Ponder and “garbage time” ensued for both squads.

“That was the game plan for this game to make sure we didn’t give up any big plays and keep the ball in front of us and we were successful in doing that,” said Chicago rookie safety Chris Conte who got his first NFL start Sunday night. “By not giving up any big plays, we allowed our offense to get the ball and do what they do and take advantage and score points. It ended up working out well for us.”

Uncharacteristically, the Bears were indeed the ones Sunday night moving the pigskin via large chunks of yards.

For the second straight contest, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler looked comfortable and confident in the pocket as he delivered accurate, precise passes. In the last two games, Cutler has completed 71 percent of his passes for 516 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His quarterback rating averages a 107.8 over this span.

“It’s happened before,” Cutler said at his postgame press conference. “You get a big one like that and everyone starts feeling good.

“Offensively, we really didn’t deviate from our gameplan. We still kept it simple, got rid of the ball on time, ran the ball well and just stuck to what we can do out there.”

Cutler was aided by running back Matt Forte (17 rush, 87 yards) and wide receiver/kick returner Devin Hester (five receptions for 91 yards and touchdown and a 98-yd kickoff returned for a TD). Cutler didn’t need to bear the load (no pun intended) and force the ball. All three phases were in effect for Chicago as the Bears scored offensively, defensively and on special teams.

In addition to the offense and special teams causing big plays, the Bears defense racked up five sacks and scored a first-quarter safety on McNabb. The defensive line causes constant pressure, which made blitzing plays far more effective.

“Of course you want big plays like that each week,” Chicago head coach Lovie Smith said following the game. “We have guys that are capable of those big plays. We just have to stay the course.

“There’s a lot of football left to go. We’ve been disappointed in some things that [have] happened so far in our season. Tonight, those big plays helped a lot.”

Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL from one week to the next. Bears defensive end Julius Peppers understands that while this was a nice change of pace for this week, the Bears need to be more consistent with eliminating big plays and using them for their own advantage.

“It’s great, it’s big for us. We needed it. Got us back to .500,” Peppers said in the locker room. “It’s a good building block—something to build on. We’re feeling good about it.”

And then Peppers, without skipping a beat, put the victory in very modest terms.

“We’re not there yet. We’re a long ways from being where we want to be but this is a step in the right direction.”

Week 7 ships the Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to London’s Wembley Stadium to do battle in the league’s annual game to be played on European soil. The Bucs, just like the Bears, were embarrassed in Week 5 and followed up with a Week 6 upset win against the New Orleans Saints.

So, which Bears team will arrive in England and whose good fortunes will continue in Week 7?

Brett Lyons is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand or from official interview materials.

Follow Brett Lyons on Twitter  @BrettLyons670.