Game Story

MINNESOTA 28, CHICAGO 16
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CHICAGO (Ticker) -- For most of the first half, the Chicago
Bears appeared poised to pull off a stunning upset.  But the
superior talent of the Minnesota Vikings proved too much to
handle.

Daunte Culpepper threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns and
Robert Smith rushed for 170 yards as the Vikings erased an early
deficit and remained undefeated with a 28-16 victory over the
Bears.

Bouyed by a vocal hometown crowd, the Bears seemed to catch
Minnesota off guard and jumped out to a 9-0 lead midway through
the second quarter.

But the Vikings shook off the sluggish start and scored twice
within a 3:09 span of the period to take a 14-9 lead. Smith
scored on a 72-yard burst and Culpepper hooked up with Cris
Carter on a 24-yard strike with 5:26 left.

"We were out of sync in the beginning," Culpepper said. "We had
a couple of miscues and mistakes on the first three drives and
we regrouped.  A good team with character is going to bounce back
from stuff like that and that's basically what we did. It took
us a while to figure out what they were doing but once we did we
attacked it."

Smith passed Chuck Foreman to become the Vikings all-time
leading rusher with 5,931 yards.

"Down the road, it's going to be something I appreciate a lot
more than I do right now," Smith said.  "Obviously, when people
think of Minnesota running backs, they're going to think Chuck
Foreman.  That's not going to change anytime soon and I don't
have any problem with that.  It's a great feeling but I've got a
lot of work to do."

The Vikings (6-0) joined the St. Louis Rams as the only
undefeated teams in the NFL.  Only the 1988 Washington Redskins
missed the playoffs after winning their first six games.

Cade McNown completed 19-of-33 attempts for 210 yards and one TD
for Chicago (1-6), which blew a 20-9 third-quarter lead in a
30-27 season-opening loss to Minnesota.

"We moved the ball well but couldn't capitalize in crucial
moments of the game," McNown said.  "I felt like we were
running and passing the ball really well.  This is a good
football team.  I feel like we have the team to beat the Vikings
but we didn't tonight and that's frustrating."

The Bears opened a 6-0 lead with 3:46 left in the first quarter.
A 28-yard pass interference penalty against Viking defensive
back Chris Dishman gave Chicago possession at the Minnesota 45.
Five plays later, McNown hooked up on a flanker screen with Dez
White, who scampered 25 yards for a touchdown.  A mishandled snap
led to a missed extra-point attempt.

Chicago appeared to score again when McNown found tight end
Kaseem Sinceno in the end zone midway through the second
quarter.

The TD was nullified when it was ruled that Sincero stepped out
of the back of the end zone, re-entered and was the first player
to touch the ball.

The Bears had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Paul Edinger
that provided a 9-0 edge.

But the potent Vikings offense, which had not crossed midfield
to that point, would not be denied for long.

On Minnesota's next play from scrimmage, Smith scampered 72
yards for the Vikings' first score with 8:35 left in the period.
Wide outs Randy Moss and Cris Carter, who had yet to catch
passes, each threw cruicial blocks that allowed Smith to score.

"I think anytime you get a long touchdown run it hurts the
(other) team," Smith said. "That always turns the tide a bit.
Everytime I break one, it's always one of those wideouts getting
out there.  On this one it was both of them right there with me,
springing me for the touchdown."

"We played relatively tough but not tough enough," Bears coach
Dick Jauron said. "The big plays got us again... the 72-yard run
was a huge play."

The defense played a role in Minnesota's next touchdown, holding
the Bears without a first down and forcing them to punt from
their own 17.

Troy Walters' 22-yard punt return gave Minnesota possession on
the Chicago 33.  Smith gained nine yards on first down and two
plays later, Culpepper threw a 24-yard strike to Carter, giving
the Vikings a 14-9 lead with 5:26 to play before halftime.

Carter caught seven passes for 111 yards and tied John Riggins
for sixth place on the all-time TD list with 116.

Smith provided the spark for another Vikings touchdown early in
the third quarter.

On Minnesota's first possession of the half, Smith split the
Bears' defense for 21 yards to the Chicago 33. Culpepper
connected with Carter for 12 yards and three plays later, the
second-year quarterback tossed a 24-yard strike to Matthew
Hatchette, stretching Minnesota's lead to 21-9.

The Bears went to four wide receiver-formation in an effort to
jump-start their stalled offense and the wrinkle set up
Chicago's second TD in the opening minute of the fourth.

McNown completed passes to four different receivers and James
Allen capped the nine-play, 74-yard drive, with a six-yard run
that cut the deficit to 21-16.

But the Vikings regained their 12-point cushion when Culpepper
hit Moss for a seven-yard TD at the 9:26 mark of the period. It
was Moss' 34th TD reception in 38 career games.

"It was an audible," Culpepper said. "They had nine guys up in
the box and I had Moss out there one-on-one. I didn't like what
I saw when I snapped the ball, so I took off outside to buy some
time. I knew he was going to come down with it."

Moss had only four receptions for 29 yards after totaling 415
yards on 24 catches in the previous three games against Chicago.

The Bears had an opportunity to shave the deficit after Ray
McElroy recovered a fumbled punt return on the Minnesota 32.  But
the Vikings took over on downs with 4:50 left and ran out the
clock.