Chicago heads to Minnesota on Sunday to face their NFC North rival Vikings. What do you need to know before kickoff?
Which Ponder will show up? The Vikings quarterback is winning in his personal life, as he became engaged to ESPN reporter Samantha Steele this week. On the field, he isn't doing as well. Against the Packers, he was 12-for-25 for 119 yards and threw two picks. Sunday's game will be a test for the young quarterback.
So much ouch: Brian Urlacher, Tim Jennings and Earl Bennett will not play on Sunday because of injury. Without Urlacher and Jennings, the Bears will have a very different looking defense. Kelvyn Hayden, Geno Hayes and Nick Roach will have to step up.
Retaliation time? Lance Louis, the Bears' best offensive lineman this season, was injured two weeks ago when Minnesota Viking Jared Allen left his feet on a tackle. Louis is done for the season. While the Bears have promised they won't retaliate, we'll see on Sunday if they feel the same way.
Stopping AP: The Bears' task this week isn't that different than the one they had two weeks ago -- stop Adrian Peterson. He's the league's best rusher. The Bears allowed him 108 yards in the last game, but kept him out of the end zone. They have to keep him contained again.
Playoffs on the line: In a 16-game season, every game is important. But with the Bears at 8-4, they need to pull out a win at the start of the fourth quarter of the season to make the playoffs a bit easier to attain.
