This was a bizarre game for me. I feel like the score indicates this was a different game from the one I was watching: the score says the Vikings mounted 4 separate scoring drives and the Bears had 3; my eyes say neither of these offenses were capable of doing squat. If this had been a repeat of the 3 to 0 Mud Bowl between the Steelers and the Dolphins, I wouldn’t have been surprised (though I would have been surprised by any mud in this game since it was played indoors in Minnesota). But there were enough big plays, turnovers, and penalties to enable each of these teams to score, and the Minnesota Vikings scored more, leading to a 20 to 10 victory over the Chicago Bears.
1st Quarter: The Bears managed to take the lead this quarter thanks to a fortuitous interception by Brian Urlacher. The ball was jarred loose and popped right into his hands. Thanks to two false start penalties, the Bears weren’t able to move much, but did manage to get a field goal, making it 3 to 0 Bears at the end of the first quarter.
2nd Quarter: Fortunately for the Vikings, (Bears quarterback) Kyle Orton’s mustache is not worth any points. If I were keeping score, it would have been worth at least a touchdown and a two point conversion (maybe even a touchdown and a field goal). It is glorious. Not the beard. That is a little wispy, but his mustache is a force to be reckoned with. I like to imagine it hoisting a few pints at a bar with the mustaches of Keith Hernandez and John Oates, but maybe that’s just me. Actually, I guarantee that’s just me.
Orton did manage to engineer a facial hair powered drive for a touchdown (it was also helped greatly by a Nathan Vasher interception on a terrible pass from Tarvaris Jackson). Add in a field goal and the Bears managed to put up 10 points this quarter, while the Vikings got two field goals of their own, making it 13 to 6 going into the half. Again, despite the scoring, there was no real flow to the game. Neither offense really gained any momentum. The Vikings’ great rookie running back, Adrian Peterson, really didn’t do much (which is a shame because I was excited to watch him play). Neither quarterback got into any kind of consistent rhythm.
3rd Quarter: This quarter contained the game’s one exciting offensive play: a short pass and 71 yard run by the Vikings’ Robert Ferguson. He was stopped on the Bears’ 1 yard line, and Adrian Peterson ran it in for a touchdown on the next play, cutting the Bears’ lead to 13 to 12 (the Vikings missed their PAT) at the end of this quarter.
Some general observations: Tarvaris Jackson appeared rattled this game. Downright reckless at other times. Some of his throws must have had Minnesota fans covering their eyes while they were in the air. I realize he’s young, but this will definitely hurt the team if they make the playoffs. You definitely can’t do that sort of stuff when you’re playing a good defense like the Bears.
Kyle Orton is not the Bears answer at quarterback, but I think they already knew that. He seems to be collapsing under the weight of the enormous pressure that comes with having a fantastic mustache. I believe it was Spider Man who said “With great facial hair comes great responsibility.” You hate to see Orton struggle with such tremendous responsibility, but he looked like it this quarter (and most of the game, really). The Bears offense looked completely inept, lacking an effective passing and running game.
Brian Urlacher had a great game with 2 sacks and an interception. I was happy to see this. Seems like a quality guy.
4th Quarter: Thanks to a big 19 yard pass by Jackson and a few good runs by Adrian Peterson, the Vikings were able to take the lead for good, 20 to 13. The Bears did manage to make it interesting at the end as Kyle Orton managed to put together a little bit of a drive with under 3 minutes left, but it was snuffed out when he threw a sloppy deep ball that picked off by the Vikings’ Darren Sharper.
Somehow the Vikings pulled this game out despite their quarterback throwing 3 interceptions, and their star running back having a less than stellar game (though a mere mortal would have been happy to have the game he did, which included 2 touchdowns). And it kept their very real playoff hopes alive.
It also squelched the playoff hopes for a few teams, one of them being the Philadelphia Eagles, which has caused a little bit of sadness amongst my friends. Luckily they have the Philadelphia sports fan pessimism in their blood, so they’d already prepared themselves for this unhappiness. All sharp objects have been removed from their households long ago.
Folks, this will be my last MNF blog for the season. Next week is the final MNF broadcast, but I won’t be able to do it due to the Christmas Eve holiday. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading.
Please have a happy and safe holiday. And on New Years, please don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have a good time. Really. Everyone puts so much pressure on the night and it never lives up to the expectations. Excessive amounts of alcohol often seems to be a requirement for many people in their definition of a good time, and it’s not. Because there’s always one person who overdoes it (maybe it’s you) and gets sick. Or even worse, the person makes multiple drunken phone calls to exes that he/she only vaguely remembers the next day, and then you’ve got a mess on your hands. This is why breathalyzers should be installed on cell phones so they shut off when you reach a certain point.
What were we talking about? Ah yes, mustaches. Remember Lew Zealand and his Boomerang Fish from the Muppet Show? Man, he had a great mustache.
(Sorry. Had to get in one last nonsensical tangent for the year. Take care.)
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