Bears freeze Vikings to clinch NFC North
MINNEAPOLIS — For a short while, the snow that had fallen since early afternoon stopped.
But it began again just before Robbie Gould’s game-opening kickoff. The field at TCF Bank Stadium was clear, though. The temperature was 23 with winds at 13 mph, creating a windchill of 9.
All in all, for an outdoor stadium in Minnesota in late December, it wasn’t too bad. It got worse, weather-wise and for the Vikings, but it was ideal for the Bears, whose 40-14 victory clinched the NFC North title in front of 40,504 hearty souls in the 50,000-seat stadium.
“It was just a great job by our football team to stay focused and become the first team in the league to clinch their division,” said coach Lovie Smith, who will be taking the Bears back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season.
“We have a special group of guys we get a lot of leadership from, guys who have been around and know what it takes.”
To the surprise only of those who don’t know his history, quarterback Brett Favre started for the Vikings, despite injuries too numerous to list.
“We had a few friendly wagers in the quarterback room on whether or not he would play,” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said. “I wasn’t surprised at all that he did.”
But Favre didn’t last long. And perennial Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson wasn’t even active for the Vikings.
Minnesota still scored first, but the Bears (10-4) took control soon after and never relinquished it, dropping the home team to 5-9.
The exclamation point was supplied, as it has been so often, by Devin Hester. His 64-yard, punt-return score was the NFL-record 14th kick-return touchdown of his career, breaking his tie with Brian Mitchell.
The touchdown also gave the Bears a 27-7 lead on what had become a slick surface, although it was not nearly as bad as some had envisioned earlier in the week.
Hester had come close to breaking the record minutes earlier when he returned the second-half kickoff 79 yards to set up Robbie Gould’s 23-yard field goal that gave the Bears a 20-7 lead just 54 seconds into the third quarter.
By then Favre was long gone. Corey Wootton’s first NFL sack came early in the second quarter when the rookie bearhugged Favre and slammed him to the turf on his left shoulder. The concussed Favre took several moments before gingerly getting to his feet. He did not return … and probably never will.
Joe Webb, Favre’s replacement, ran 13 yards to make it 27-14, but the Bears answered almost immediately.
Cutler, as he did several times throughout the snowy, slippery evening, fired a dart over the middle, this time to seldom-used wide receiver Rashied Davis for a 9-yard TD and a 34-14 lead.
Cutler completed 14 of 24 passes for 194 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception for a 106.6 passer rating, his fifth 100-plus game and third in the last four.
“It feels good, but we’re not done,” Cutler said. “By no means are we completely satisfied yet. This is just one step. Hopefully it’s a steppingstone.”
After Favre was sidelined, the Bears immediately marched 70 yards in eight plays after another short punt by Chris Kluwe, who made it a point in the first half to avoid kicking the ball anywhere close to Hester.
But Hester burned the Vikings anyway when he caught a skinny post from Cutler for a 15-yard touchdown to give the visitors a 17-7 lead with 6:54 left in the first half. Three runs by Matt Forte produced 24 yards on the drive and a 23-yard catch and run by Earl Bennett set up the score.
The Bears’ first touchdown came on a first-and-30 play when Cutler found Johnny Knox near midfield along the sideline. When Vikings safety Madieu Williams took a bad angle, Knox flew past him and coasted into the end zone for a 67-yard TD and a 10-7 Bears lead with 1:55 left in the first quarter.
By then the snow had become mixed with freezing rain and the slipping and sliding became more prevalent, although there were no injuries because of the conditions.
“That didn’t matter,” linebacker Lance Briggs said. “We just had to take care of business.”