Offense
OFFENSIVE LINE
GRADE: C
John St. Clair and Roberto Garza started and performed well. Orton was sacked three times, but the line held up well against blitzes. The Vikings never gained real control of the line of scrimmage.
RECEIVERS
GRADE: B –
Tight end Desmond Clark caught two TDs on catches that totaled 5 yards, one an acrobatic 3-yard catch on which he stretched the ball across the goal line. Muhsin Muhammad was workmanlike with five catches.
QUARTERBACK
GRADE: C
Kyle Orton responded well under pressure after a poor first quarter. He ran a controlled, percentage passing game that gradually took the afternoon away from the Vikings. And his only interception came on a calculated gamble downfield.
RUNNING BACKS
GRADE: B –
Thomas Jones answered any doubts about his durability by playing through a knee injury for 89 yards, 24 on a TD run and one more on an exclamation-point score late. He put distance between himself and No. 1 pick Cedric Benson, who struggled.
SPECIAL TEAMS
GRADE: B+
Bobby Wade’s punt return from the Bears’ 2 paid off with a 49-yard runback that set up the Bears’ first TD. Alfonso Boone swung momentum to the Bears with a block of Paul Edinger’s third-quarter field-goal try. And Brad Maynard punted in pain.
COACHING
GRADE: A –
Coaches challenged players to make a statement. The offense was unable to create opportunities downfield, but Ron Turner’s goal-line calls were inspired. The defense handled with Culpepper without excess blitzing.
Defense
SECONDARY
GRADE: A –
Defensive backs broke up eight of 48 passes by Daunte Culpepper. Cornerback Charles Tillman had an interception and 55-yard return. Safety Chris Harris, also beaten of late, picked up his first interception.
LINEBACKERS
GRADE: B+
Brian Urlacher delivered two sacks and led all players with nine tackles, eight unassisted. Hunter Hillenmeyer had six tackles. Lance Briggs deflected a pass and had five tackles.
DEFENSIVE LINE
GRADE: B
Tommie Harris got his second sack in as many weeks, Israel Idonije collected his second career sack and the down linemen took the game away from an overmatched Vikings line, allowing Urlacher and others to make disrupting plays in the backfield.
