Vikings will provide something different for Bears: a challenge

Now for something completely different.

The Bears (6-5) will play a legitimate playoff-caliber team this week, and they realize a game in Minnesota against the Vikings (6-5) poses a much greater challenge than a romp over the Rams (2-9) in St. Louis.

This week's winner will retain at least a share of the NFC North lead, depending on the outcome of Monday night's game between Green Bay (5-5) against New Orleans.

"You can say it's the biggest game we've had in our division in a long time," coach Lovie Smith said. "They're a good football team. They've been playing well, especially of late. We know them well; they know us well. It should be a heck of a game."

The Vikings have won five of their last seven, with the only losses coming at Soldier Field against the Bears (48-41) in Week 7 and at Tampa Bay (19-13) in Week 11.

The Vikings are coming off a 30-12 victory over the Jaguars in Jacksonville that was aided by 5 takeaways. Since losing their home opener to the Colts 18-15, the Vikings have won four in a row at the Metrodome, the last three by a total of 10 points.

The most noticeable of many differences between the Rams and Vikings is the running game. Without the injured Steven Jackson, the Rams don't have one. The Vikings certainly do - they're No. 5 in the NFL.

"It's different," Bears defensive end Alex Brown said. "St. Louis throws the ball a little more; they don't have Adrian Peterson. He's a monster. He's good. He runs hard. When you've got Adrian Peterson in the backfield, you're going to run the ball. When you have an offensive line like they have, as big as they are, they're going to run the ball.

"We've got to stop the run first and foremost, and when they do throw it, we've got to put pressure on (quarterback Gus Frerotte). We've got to sack him. Those are the things we've got to do to have a chance to win. It doesn't necessarily guarantee we're going to win, it just gives us a chance."

Against the Titans and the Rams, the Bears' run defense was phenomenal, allowing a total of 34 yards on 48 carries, barely 2 feet per attempt.

But in between those two games, the Packers ran through the Bears for 200 yards on 38 carries. The Vikings ran for 155 yards in their first meeting with the Bears, including 121 by Peterson, who had a 54-yard TD run and is second in the NFL with 1,180 rushing yards.

The Bears' defensive line set the tone for the rout of the Rams, getting all 5 of the sacks and 4 of the 9 tackles for lost yardage after coaches reviewed the film.

But the Vikings present a tougher test, especially their left side, which features tackle Bryant McKinnie and guard Steve Hutchinson.

"Their offensive line is very good; a much better offensive line this weekend than last week," said left end Adewale Ogunleye, who had 2 sacks vs. the Rams. "So we've got to play stout up front. What we have to do is try to stay in their backfield, get as many (tackles for loss) as we had (vs. the Rams).

"The nose tackles - Dusty (Dvoracek) and (Anthony) Adams - have got to play well. Me and Alex have got to create havoc in the backfield, and Tommie has got to be Tommie Harris. This is a tough game for us. It's one of the biggest games that we've played here in awhile."