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Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, coming off “the worst game I’ve played since I’ve been playing football,” will be looking to atone for a 3-yard, 14-carry performance last Sunday at San Francisco. The fact the rookie phenom will be making his debut on “Monday Night Football” only adds to the incentive.
The Bears, on the other hand, know all too well how it feels to be left in Peterson’s wake. The first, and only, time the Chicago defense went against Peterson, it gave up a single-game franchise-high 224 yards rushing in a 34-31 loss on Oct. 14 at Soldier Field.
Peterson set a Vikings mark with 361 combined net yards that day, and the Vikings’ 311 yards rushing were the third-most the Bears have surrendered in their 88-year history. Peterson’s rushing total also set a Vikings mark that he broke three weeks later when he ran for an NFL-record 296 yards against San Diego.
“He’s a rookie, and you never want a rookie to run as much as he did on us,” said Adewale Ogunleye, the Bears left defensive end. “We were embarrassed.”
Added defensive tackle Tommie Harris: “You always want to repay someone that does that to you. He had a heck of a game against us, and I don’t feel like we played our best game, but we get our chance to do it again. Hopefully, we can contain him more.”
Bears might have trouble with blitz
The 49ers might have supplied at least a partial recipe for this Sunday by blitzing cornerbacks Nate Clements and Walt Harris in order to help slow the Vikings’ top-ranked running game. For the most part, the NFL’s then-26th-ranked rushing defense was successful. The Vikings finished with 117 yards on 31 carries, but 84 of those came on Chester Taylor’s second-quarter touchdown run. Otherwise, the Vikings averaged 1.1 yards per carry.
While the NFL is a copycat league, this might be a difficult formula for the Bears to follow. Blitzing the corners comes with the risk of being burned in the pass game. “I think we have some ideas on how to do it,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “(The 49ers) executed well, and hopefully we’ll execute a little bit better this time, too.”
The Bears, who are out of the playoff picture at 5-8 and ranked 24th in the league against the run, also have health issues at defensive tackle that could make slowing the run difficult.
Harris’ left knee has bothered him for much of the season, and he isn’t able to play full time. The hamstring he tore late last season against the Vikings continues to be an issue. Nose tackle Darwin Walker (elbow), who did not appear in the October game against the Vikings, is expected to be on the field Monday, but Israel Idonije and Babatunde Oshinowo are likely to get turns as well.
Peterson only part of assignment
Harris made it clear that focusing on Peterson will be only one part of the assignment. “You’ve still got to remember that Chester Taylor rushed for 1,000 (yards last year),” he said. “They have a two-headed monster that either/or can break out, so it’s basically being able to contain the whole offense, and (quarterback) Tarvaris Jackson is playing excellent ball right now.”
Peterson, whose 1,200 yards rushing this season trails NFL leader Willie Parker of Pittsburgh by 17 yards, knows the bottom line is that the Bears have no interest in being embarrassed on national television.
“You just know that these guys are going to be ready to come in and stop the run,” he said. “I’m just preparing myself well in practice and just really being really detailed in my footwork and being patient and letting the game come to me. That’s what I’m focusing on all week. That’s what I’m going to focus on for the weekend, and we’ll see how things show on the field Monday night.”
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