Vikings overcome 23-6 deficit to send game with Bears to overtime

more images

more images

Bears and Vikes tied after regulation

CHICAGO — Sidney Rice made a leaping touchdown catch of a fourth-down pass from Brett Favre with 16 seconds left in regulation Monday night and the Minnesota Vikings rallied to tie the Chicago Bears 30-30.

Danieal Manning’s 59-yard kickoff return — his second long return of the game — helped the Bears take a 30-23 lead when Jay Cutler passed 20 yards to Earl Bennett for a TD with 4:55 left.

But the Vikings, who trailed 16-0 at halftime and 23-6 in the third quarter, moved in for the tying 6-yard score behind Favre. Adrian Peterson went 16 yards with a pass and a 19-yard completion to Percy Harvin moved the ball to the 19 with just under 2 minutes remaining.

Favre then drilled another key third-down pass, this one to Rice for 11 yards and the Vikings had a first-and-goal at the 7 with 1:04 remaining.

After a third-down pass from the 6 sailed high, Favre went back to the corner of the end zone and a leaping Rice beat Corey Graham. Ryan Longwell’s extra point — he had an earlier one blocked — tied the game and sent it to overtime.

Longwell kicked a 41-yard field goal early in the fourth following Cedric Griffin’s interception of Cutler to cut it to 23-16. A leaping 18-yard catch by Visanthe Shiancoe on the drive was costly for the Bears when cornerback Charles Tillman hurt his ribs making the tackle and had to taken off on a stretcher.

The Vikings got the ball back and Favre went to work as the Vikings moved 79 yards in eight plays to tie the game. He hit a third-and-10 pass of 20 yards to Chester Taylor, connected on a 23-yarder to Greg Lewis and 12-yarders to Rice and Harvin. That got the ball to the 1 and Peterson carried in for his second TD. The extra point tied the game with 5:49 left.

Cutler had three TD passes, including short ones to Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen, to help the Bears lead most of the game.

The Vikings, already the NFC North champions, had lost two of three entering the game and were trying to stop their late-season fade on a cold night at Soldier Field.

Cutler’s 7-yard TD pass to Olsen and Robbie Gould’s three field goals helped the Bears take 16-0 lead.

After a first half in which he was just 5 of 9 for 36 yards, Favre got untracked on Minnesota’s second possession of the third quarter. He hit Bernard Berrian with a 13-yard pass and then on the next play found him open behind the secondary for a 38-yard gain to the Bears 22.

When Tillman interfered with Rice in the end zone, the Vikings had a first-and-goal at the 1 and Peterson carried it in for the TD.

But Israel Idonijie, who forced Favre to fumble in the first half, blocked Longwell’s extra point attempt, leaving the Vikings in a 16-6 hole.

Manning then returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the Vikings 34. And two plays after a pass interference call against Minnesota’s Jasper Brinkley put the ball on the 4, Cutler lofted the pass to Clark for a 23-6 lead.

Favre then led the Vikings on a 10-play, 73-yard drive, hitting a 6-yard scoring pass to Shiancoe.