Bears Lose Adrian Peterson Bowl

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Dec 18, 2007 3:10PM

One Adrian Peterson ran for 78 yards on 20 carries while scoring two touchdowns. The other Adrian Peterson ran for 26 on 9 carries. You can probably guess which AP belongs to the Bears.

While the Vikings' budding superstar had nowhere near the game he had against the Bears in Week 5 (224 yards/3 TDs), his output was more than enough for the Vikes to win the game 20-13 — helping put Minnesota in the driver's seat for a wild card spot while officially ending any hopes of playoffs for the Bears.

The Bears defense looked much more like the defense we'd come to expect in recent seasons, especially Brian Urlacher — he had perhaps his best game in years, with an interception, a fumble recovery and two sacks. Nathan Vasher had a pick in his return to the field after missing ten games, as did Brandon McGowan.

If only the offense were able to do anything to move the ball and score. The Kyle Orton we saw on Monday Night Football looked very much like the Orton we remember from 2005. He completed 22 of 38 passes for 184 yards and one interception. While he didn't make the cringe-worthy mistakes that Grossman and Griese made all year, he also did very little to help the offense capitalize on the great field position they had most of the game. But the offense converted only one of 14 third-down attempts and had seven three-and-out possessions. In fact, all three of their scoring drives began in the red zone.

After 14 games of watching this disappointment of a team, Chicagoist has had enough! We're glad we'll be relaxing on the beaches of Mexico while the Bears play their final two games. [Ed note: So jealous.]

Photo by AP Photo/Jim Mone.