3:11 PM - And the streak is over. The Vikings defense forced the Bears to punt, and Bridgewater went deep and hit Charles Johnson, who went high in the air to pull down the ball and got the Vikings into field goal range. Blair Walsh would come on and nail the game-winner, so the Vikings move to 5-2 on the season and welcome the St. Louis Rams to Minneapolis on Sunday.
2:53 PM - After Jay Cutler led the Bears down the field to take a 20-13 lead thanks to a short Cutler rushing touchdown, Teddy Bridgewater reponsded in a big way.
Bridgewater, who took a low hit early in the drive and was limping throughout the next several plays, hit Stefon Diggs for a 40-yard touchdown to tie the game up at 20-20.
2:19 PM –Blair Walsh has tied the game.
Another Vikings drive that reached opponent territory failed to reach the end zone. But Walsh hit another FG – his 12 consecutive. This one was good from 48 yards and it knotted up the score of the game – 13 points apiece.
On the drive, RT TJ Clemmings left the game with what the team has listed as a stinger. His return is questionable.
1:46 PM –The Bears parlayed their late-half TD with another Robbie Gould FG and now they lead.
Terence Newman saved what could've been a TD drive and was most certainly another 3rd-down conversion for the Bears offense with a PBU on 3rd and 3. That's when Gould came on for the short FG to put the Bears ahead 13-10 early in the 3rd quarter.
The Vikings offense stands to get its first possession of the half in a moment.
1:18 PM –A Teddy Bridgewater INT turned costly.
The Vikings were trying to drive the length of the field just before halftime to tack on one final score, but a 3rd down pass from Bridgewater was picked off by CB Kyle Fuller and returned to the MN 34. A few moments later, Jay Cutler lofted up a pass to Alshon Jeffery in the back corner of the end zone and the big receiver came down with the catch for an outstanding TD.
The Robbie Gould PAT was converted, and the Bears tied the game at 10 with 42 seconds to play in the 1st half. The turnover-turned-into-points for Chicago takes what was a dominant half by the Vikings defense and turns it into a closely-contest NFC North game at Soldier Field.
12:51 PM –The Vikings put together a nice drive to penetrate Bears territory but they couldn't cap it with a TD and instead settled for a Blair Walsh 43-yard FG.
Walsh has now made 11 straight FGs and he's given the Vikings a 10-3 lead.
There is 9:05 to play in the 2nd quarter and a well-rested Vikings defense is set to take the field against Jay Cutler and Co.
12:29 PM –Marcus Sherels!
The diminutive punt returner fielded a Bears punt, angled to his right, turned on the jets and zipped past the Bears coverage team to find the end zone for a 65-yard punt return TD. It's the 3rd punt return TD of Sherels' career and yet another special teams TD for the Vikings under Mike Priefer.
Blair Walsh converted the PAT and the Vikings lead 7-3 with 3:37 to play in the 1st quarter.
12:15 PM –The Bears are on the board.
Adrian Peterson gained 6 yards on the first play of the game, but consecutive incompletions thereafter forced a Vikings punt. Bears punt returner Marc Mariani muffed Jeff Locke's punt but it rolled out of bounds before the Vikings could secure it.
The Vikings defense responded, surrendering just 16 yards on 6 plays. But the forward progress of the muffed punt plus the 16 yards put the Bears within K Robbie Gould's range, and he converted a 55-yarder to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Bears.
9:33 AM -Conditions are great at Soldier Field.
I repeat: conditions are great at Soldier Field.
Bravo to the grounds crew and thank you to Mother Nature.
It rained all day on Saturday and it's not exactly warm, but conditions are good for today's Vikings-Bears showdown. You never know what you're going to get when you play in Chicago. It can be windy, rainy or snowy, freezing cold, and sometimes all of the above. The Vikings have seen all of those elements in recent games here. But right now, none of those elements are present with kickoff about two hours away.
The forecast calls for temperatures around 61 degrees at kickoff with no clouds and winds around 10 miles per hour. The playing surface is always a topic of conversation here, but it hasn't been on this Sunday morning. At least not yet.
It is a beautiful day for football at Soldier Field.
8:21 AM - The Vikings are en route to Soldier Field for today's game against the Bears. Get ready for the contest by watching all four segment from this week's "Vikings GamePlan" below...
