2014 VIKINGS AT BEARS PART 1

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois Date: SUNDAY November 16 Game time: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: 31 °F cloudy, flurries Game attendance: 61,792 Chicago hosted the 4–5 Vikings in week eleven, the Vikings leading the all-time rivalry 53–51–4,[ though the Bears had won six consecutive games at Soldier Field between the two teams, dating back to 2007. Jeff Joniak stated the Bears must "play smart"; for instance, on offense, the Bears would have to watch for pressure from a blitz-happy Mike Zimmer-led defense, which ranked third in the league in sacks with 30, 20 of which were in their last four games, and was also ranked third in the NFL in hurries with 60, and forced offenses to commit a league-leading 13 holding penalties.[306] The pass rush would try to attack Jay Cutler, who was tied for the most turnovers with 15, and was sacked 23 times.[On first down, the Vikings blitzed 32 percent of the time, and 38 percent on third down. The Vikings also ranked fourth against the pass, allowing 213.6 yards per game. The Vikings had also improved on points allowed, allowing 18.3 points in their last four games after permitting 30.0 in the previous four. However, the Vikings' rush defense was allowing 5 yards per carry on first down.[306] Defensively, the Bears were struggling, allowing a league-most 30.8 points per game while ranking 28th against the pass, allowing 268.6 yards per game. Despite Vikings' star running back Adrian Peterson being suspended for the game,[ Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon had seven runs of 20 yards or more, and the latter averaged 5.0 yards per carry. In the passing game, the Vikings struggled without tight end Kyle Rudolph, but he made his return in week eleven. Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was average in terms of accuracy and arm strength, having completed 53.9 percent of his passes, including 66 percent on third down, and while Greg Jennings had caught 60 percent of targets, Cordarrelle Patterson only caught 46 percent. The Vikings' third down offense also struggled without Rudolph and Peterson, with a 36.5 conversion percentage, and at the line, Matt Kalil had allowed a league-high 12 sacks. Both teams had struggled in moving the ball downfield, with the Bears and Vikings having 32 and 33 drives start inside their own 20-yard lines, respectively, and the latter being the second-most in the NFL. On such drives, Chicago had a touchdown, 14 points, and six turnovers, while Minnesota had no touchdowns, 6 points, and four turnovers.[306] Josh Morgan, Terrance Mitchell, Darryl Sharpton, Eben Britton, Jordan Mills, Trevor Scott, and Blake Annen were the Bears' inactive players. The Bears won the toss, and elected to defer. On their opening drive, the Vikings scored on Blair Walsh's 50-yard field goal. During the Bears' next drive, a play was whistled dead because Minnesota wanted to challenge whether a previous play was a fumble, and when Cutler voiced his complaints to the referees, he was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct; the ruling eventually stood, costing the Vikings their first timeout.[309] The Bears later attempted to tie the score with Robbie Gould's 47-yard field goal, but missed the kick wide right. Later in the quarter, the Vikings extended their lead by ten with Bridgewater's seven-yard touchdown pass to Rhett Ellison.[ The Bears' next drive lasted into the second quarter, and ended on the fourth play of the quarter with Cutler's 27-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery. After both teams exchanged punts, the Bears were pinned on their own 27-yard line after a 20-yard illegal block penalty on Christian Jones. However, the Bears were able to reach the Vikings' 44-yard line,[ where Cutler threw a touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall, who outjumped Robinson for the catch; the score gave the Bears the 14–10 lead, the first time the Bears had led since week six against the Falcons, snapping a 207-minute, 11 second lead-less streak. After the Vikings punted again, the Bears' final possession of the first half ended after three plays: with 15 seconds remaining, the Bears called their final timeout of the half, and on the next play, Cutler was intercepted by Xavier Rhodes on a long pass to Jeffery. Bridgewater kneeled once to end the half. In the second half, the Bears started on their own 17-yard line, but reached the Vikings' one-yard line on 12 plays. On 4th and 1, Cutler attempted a quarterback sweep, but was tackled for no gain by Tom Johnson. After the Vikings punted, the Bears' following drive was ended when Cutler, attempting to avoid pressure from Johnson, had his pass for Martellus Bennett intercepted by Harrison Smith, who returned the pick 52 yards to the Chicago 27-yard line. However, the Vikings failed to capitalize on the takeaway, and at the Bears' 20-yard line, Walsh's field goal sailed wide right. The Bears' responding drive went into the final quarter, and ended with Cutler's four-yard touchdown pass to Marshall, killing 7:35 on the game clock