Anatomy of a Drive: Bears Bottle Up Peterson

After weeks of problems and one of the league's best running backs staring them in the face, the Bears defense had to set a tone early. They did that in the very first drive, bottling up Adrian Peterson and forcing a three-and-out.

  • 1st-10, MIN 20 15:00 A. Peterson rushed to the right for 1 yard gain -- Peterson tried to run straight up the gut, but Anthony Adams was waiting for him. The Minnesota offensive line did little to find a hole for him. They held off Julius Peppers, but didn't account for Adams.
  • Bears timeout -- Brian Urlacher saw a 3-tight end formation from the Vikings, but the defense was confused on how to shift and be prepared for it, so Urlacher called for the timeout. Did you get a little worried at this point? Because I did. Seeing the Bears defense burn a timeout because they didn't know what they were doing sparked fears about the young players starting at safety for the first time. Would this team be able to get it together for the rest of the game? Lovie Smith took a second and talked to rookie Chris Conte.
  • 2nd 9, MIN21 14:24 A. Peterson rushed to the right for 2 yard gain -- Peterson shifted slightly to the right, with his offensive line pulling to the left, but Major Wright was waiting for him. He tripped up Peterson, and Urlacher finished the tackle. Wright wanted to show that he earned the starting spot, and he did that early in the game.
  • 3rd-7, MIN23 13:43 D. McNabb incomplete pass to the left -- The Bears D had nothing to do with this play. Visanthe Shiancoe was wide open and dropped a pass from Donovan McNabb.


Peterson was stopped early on because the Bears were ready for him, and because the Vikings line seemed more convinced with holding off Peppers. The Bears took advantage and used their other assets on defense to stop AP. He finished the day with 39 yards, and dropped from second to sixth in the league.

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