Bears at Vikings
THE STORY: Aside from the Indianapolis Colts, few teams have had their seasons derailed due to quarterback issues more than the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. When the NFC North rivals square off in Sunday's regular-season finale at Minnesota, the Vikings expect to have rookie Christian Ponder under center while the Bears counter with Josh McCown, who was coaching high school football last month and made his first start in four years a week ago. Chicago's season careened off the tracks following a broken thumb suffered by QB Jay Cutler. The Vikings never recovered from an awful start under Donovan McNabb and are trying to avoid matching the worst record in franchise history.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Vikings -1, O/U 41
ABOUT THE BEARS (7-8): Chicago was officially eliminated from postseason contention with Sunday night’s 35-21 loss at Green Bay, its fifth consecutive defeat since Cutler went down. RB Matt Forte has missed the past three games and was placed on season-ending injured reserve along with Cutler this week. RB Khalil Bell was impressive in his first career start, rushing for 121 yards on 23 carries. McCown could be auditioning for a backup slot Sunday. Given his inactivity, the journeyman QB held up well against the mighty Packers, throwing for 242 yards with one TD and two interceptions.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS (3-12): Minnesota snapped a six-game losing streak with a 33-26 victory at Washington, but it came at a heavy price. Star RB Adrian Peterson suffered two torn ligaments in his knee and is expected to be sidelined for eight to nine months after undergoing surgery. Ponder also sustained a concussion in the game but was cleared to return to practice this week. Backup QB Joe Webb relieved Ponder for the second time in three weeks and rallied the Vikings by throwing for a pair of touchdown passes and running for another.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Chicago has won the last four meetings, including a 39-10 rout earlier this season.
2. A loss would give the Vikings the worst mark in franchise history, matching the 3-13 mark by the 1984 team.
3. Bears WR/KR Devin Hester has four of his 19 career return touchdowns against the Vikings.