Next challenge for Bears' defense: Vikings' Peterson

Wednesday was almost a year ago to the day when, as a rookie, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson played his first game at Soldier Field.

It was pretty memorable - for him.

For the Bears, it was forgettable as Peterson rushed for 224 yards, more than any player has ever gained on the ground against a Bears team.

"That's dead and gone," said Bears defensive lineman Israel Idonije of that 34-31 Vikings victory in which Peterson scored on runs of 73, 67 and 35 yards.

"This is a new Sunday, a new game. That's what we're focused on and playing our defense, this year, and making plays and stopping them, this year."

Bears defenders don't have to replay last year's horror film to know how important it is to prevent a repeat performance by Peterson on Sunday.

"That's something I really don't even want to watch," cornerback Corey Graham said. "He had a big game, (but) we're just going to move forward and look at what they're doing this year and just try to attack them and do what we do."

A lot has changed since last year. Deep-threat wide receiver Bernard Berrian now plays for the Vikings instead of the Bears. And reliable veteran Gus Frerotte has replaced ineffective, young Tarvaris Jackson as Minnesota's quarterback.

But stopping Peterson still is the focus of the Bears' defense.

"His ability is not a fluke," Idonije said. "He has a lot of ability and a great support system. They play well together."

Peterson's ability has been obvious for a long, long time. Bears nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek left Oklahoma a year ahead of A.P., but it didn't take long for him and everyone else to recognize that Peterson was something special.

"The first day he stepped on the Oklahoma campus he was the best player we had, which is a big statement for a team that went to the national championship," Dvoracek said. "He's a fast, strong, smart football player. He makes unbelievable runs. You're just like, 'Wow.' So it's definitely a big challenge."

Three weeks after bum-rushing the Bears, Peterson set the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards against San Diego in his eighth game as a pro. He rushed for 1,341 yards last season, even though he missed two games, and he averaged 5.6 yards per carry, despite being stalked by opposing defenses after his amazing early-season performances.

Peterson hasn't been quite as spectacular this year, but he's averaging 4.4 yards per attempt and is third in the NFL with 563 rushing yards, on pace for a 1,501-yard season.

The Bears' defense committed to stopping Atlanta running back Michael Turner on Sunday and did so, but it came at the expense of getting gouged for 301 passing yards by rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. They will nevertheless have the same mind-set this week.

"That's always the game plan going in," Dvoracek said. "You want to stop the run. We want to stop Adrian and have their passing game try to beat us."

The Falcons' passing game did beat the Bears, so they know they must improve.

"A big part of that is us getting pressure on the quarterback," Dvoracek said. "We didn't do that last week. It's going to definitely be a main focus, getting off blocks and getting to the quarterback, making him make mistakes."

But that comes only after they've accounted for Peterson. In last year's rematch at the Metrodome, the Bears limited him to 78 yards on 20 carries, although he scored 2 more touchdowns, and the Vikings won again 20-13.

"We remember what happened here," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "It was a coming-out party for him here; he had a great game. We played them better the second time around, and we're anxious to play him the third time."

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