When the Bears are watching film of their next opponent, they will know football is unfair. When they see the Chargers pounding the Vikings 30-17, they will be struck by at least two things: All of a sudden, the Chargers are scoring 30 points a game and the Vikings are giving up 30 a game.
This happens just when the Bears are through playing the Vikings for the year and must now face the Chargers.
Sunday’s impressive victory was the second road win in a row for the Chargers, who beat the Raiders 30-23 last week. For the Vikings, it was their second straight home defeat after a 30-27 loss to the Lions. Both the Chargers and Vikings are 4-4, their only similarity Sunday.
The Bears also will be impressed by how well the second-string quarterbacks of both the Chargers and Vikings played.
San Diego’s John Friesz is no longer second string after going 20 of 32 for 268 yards and two touchdowns against what is supposed to be the NFL’s second-best defense. Stan Humphries is healthy, but he will be holding a clipboard against the Bears.
“I mean we’re not going to change,” coach Bobby Ross said. “I hope we can put that to rest for a while.”
Minnesota’s Sean Salisbury had career highs of 347 yards on 29-of-47 passing, meaning coach Dennis Green can give Jim McMahon’s dislocated left shoulder at least another week’s rest when the Vikings go to Denver.
But what will impress the Bears most is the difference running makes. They’ll see rookie Natrone Means gain 105 of San Diego’s 148 rushing yards on 17 carries in a reserve, change-of-pace role. They’ll see what a big back who is in shape can do. Means is 5 feet 10 inches, 245 pounds and as quick as the defenders he ran through in the fourth quarter. That’s when the Chargers scored two TDs in 1:01 after an interception by Sean Vanhorse and a fumbled kickoff return by Qadry Ismail.
The Vikings rushed for 20 yards, an all-time franchise low that left them unable to control the clock, protect a 17-16 lead, help Salisbury or give their weary defense a rest.
Rookie Robert Smith was suffering from chicken pox. He spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights in a hospital and looked it, carrying only three times for 5 yards. Barry Word gained 11 yards on eight carries as the Chargers set the tone early by stuffing Word on third and 1 and fourth and 1.
The Chargers were leading 16-3 after Friesz’s 66-yard TD pass to Anthony Miller beat a blitz on the first possession of the second half. Friesz, knocked down by linebacker Fred Strickland, signaled touchdown from his knees.
Salisbury responded with drives of 80 and 78 yards, hitting 9 of 12 passes as the Vikings took a 17-16 lead with 1:17 left in the third quarter. He hit Anthony Carter for a 9-yard score on one of Carter’s career-high 10 catches for 164 yards. Then he threw up a corner end-zone route to Cris Carter that drew an interference call against cornerback Vanhorse, setting up Word’s 1-yard TD.
But on the third play of the fourth quarter, Salisbury’s pass on an identical corner route to Carter was intercepted by Vanhorse at the San Diego 39. The ball bounced off Carter and landed in Vanhorse’s arms.
“I didn’t see any difference between the coverage on the interception and the interference,” Vanhorse said. “I thought the ball in the end zone was uncatchable.”
The Chargers immediately turned Means loose. He carried five times in seven plays and scored on a 7-yard run to regain the lead.
When Ismail fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting the Chargers up on the Viking 21, Friesz connected with Shawn Jefferson for the clinching TD from 18 yards.
The Chargers, who totaled only 84 points in their first six games, have scored 60 in their last two. They gave up 467 yards to the Raiders and 346 to the Vikings and couldn’t care less.
“Doesn’t matter how you win,” said linebacker Junior Seau. “We just wanted to grab a win and get to .500. That’s where we want to be, considering we started so bad.”
The Vikings have given up 31 points in their last two fourth quarters, blowing leads in both.
“I could tell they were tired, missing tackles,” said Means, who followed the even bigger 250-pound Marion Butts into the lineup.
“I’ll look at this 4-4 the same way San Diego looks at their 4-4,” said Green. “They probably feel pretty darn good about their 4-4 and think they have the potential to be a playoff team. I also know we have the potential to be a playoff team.”
On Sunday, San Diego’s record looked half-full, Minnesota’s half-empty.
