(Photo courtesy: www.gamedaygold.com)
CHICAGO — Michael Bush ran for two touchdowns and quarterback Jay Cutler — two weeks after suffering a concussion — returned to throw a touchdown pass to Matt Spaeth as the Chicago Bears dominated the Minnesota Vikings, 28-10, at Soldier Field Sunday.
For the day, Cutler was 23 for 31, with a touchdown and an interception, passing for 188 yards. The Bears were 11 of 19 on third-down conversions, which kept the Vikings’ defense on the field far too long. The Vikings were 6 for 16 on third down conversions.
That’s our quick take on what happened Sunday. Here’s how other news outlets began their coverage:
ASSOCIATED PRESS: “The Chicago Bears will be just fine if they keep playing like this…”
The rest:
“They did a good job,” Frazier said of the Bears’ offense. “We’ve got to get better. We didn’t do a very good job today. It’s going to be hard to win on a consistent basis if you can’t convert on third downs.”
To see more comments from Frazier and Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder, via Vikings.com, CLICK HERE.
For the day, Minnesota was 6 for 16 on third down conversions — and turned the ball over on downs on the Chicago 8-yard-line on fourth and two while trailing 28-10.
The Vikings’ Adrian Peterson once again ran for more than 100 yards on the day (108 yards on 18 carries), but he lost two fumbles — one which set up Bush’s first touchdown run.
Minnesota scored in the first quarter after Chicago’s Matt Forte fumbled on the Bears’ first series of the game, setting up a 40-yard Blair Walsh field goal for the Vikings.
The Vikings added a touchdown in the third quarter on a two-yard pass from Christian Ponder to Kyle Rudolph. But that was all the offense Minnesota could muster.
Ponder was 22 for 43 on the day, passing for 159 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“We weren’t good on third down, and we weren’t good in the red zone.” Ponder said in his post game news conference. “But that’s life in the NFL. We know that this one hurts, but we have to move on to Green Bay.
“I’m going to work harder and get back on track. I’ve got to get better.”
The loss drops the Vikings to 6-5 on the season, as the Bears improve to 8-3.
Minnesota is on the road again next week to face the Packers, while Chicago hosts Seattle.
