Morning Box Score: Bears Win Shootout

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Oct 20, 2008 3:37PM

With both Bears starting cornerbacks and their nickel back out due to injury, we feared the Bears might give up a whole lotta points. What we perhaps hadn't anticipated was that the Bears would manage to score even more and pull out the win, which they did by beating their NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings 48-41 at Soldier Field on Sunday.

Special teams scored two touchdowns and neither one was by Devin Hester (who left the game in the third with a quad injury). In the first quarter, the Bears blocked a punt that Garret Wolfe returned 17 yards for a TD. In the second, Zack Bowman pounced on a ball in the end zone that had touched Viking punt returner Charles Gordon. Bowman was the surprise star of the game. In addition to his heads up touchdown in the first half, he also came up with an interception in the final minute of the gameas the Vikes were attempting to drive for the game-tying score and Bears fans were fearing a repeat of last week's debacle. Not a bad day for a rookie promoted from the practice squad to play in his first NFL game.

Bowman's pick was one of four on the day by the Bears' defense. Corey Graham, Trumaine McBride and Kevin Payne also each grabbed one. But while the secondary was able to end some Minnesota drives, the defense in general allowed the Vikes too many yards and too many points. The 41 points allowed were the most ever for an opponent in a Bears victory. The Monsters of the Midway gave up 439 total yards. Journeyman QB Gus Ferotte passed for 298 yards through the air, and they added 155 on the ground -- including 121 by Adrian Peterson. And it's not that their offense didn't perform. Kyle Orton again proved that he's developed into a legitimate NFL quarterback with a 284 yard performance where he completed 21 of 32 passes, threw for two TDs and no interceptions.

The Bears now enter their bye week with a 4-3 record, which is good enough for a tie atop the NFC North. They are now 2-0 against their division, although they have yet to play the Packers, who are the co-leaders in the North. The bye couldn't come at a better time for the team. With so many key players banged up, especially in the secondary and wide receiver, the team needs the time to heal and prepare for the grind of the second half of the season.

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast