Morrissey: Vikings having way with Bears, 24-7

By Rick Morrissey

MINNEAPOLIS -- For the longest time, this was a butt-whupping without a score that might have indicated a butt-whupping was in progress.

In the first quarter, the Vikings had eight plays of 10 yards or more. The Bears had six plays -- total. And yet the score was 0-0. And in light of the huge statistical advantage for Minnesota, you might have been tempted to say the Bears held a 0-0 lead. They should have been getting killed.

As it was, the Vikings scored on the first play of the second quarter, and, yes, it was for more than 10 yards -- a 15-yard pass play from Brett Favre to Percy Harvin. The Bears had a decent idea how to stop Adrian Peterson on the ground, but they didn't know what to do with Favre.

Oh, there was brief optimism. Jay Cutler found Johnny Knox on a lovely 24-yard touchdown play to tie it. But come on. These are the Vikings, and those were the Bears, and it's not hard to tell the difference. By halftime, it was 24-7. Knox fumbled a kickoff, leading to a 52-yard field goal, and, well, we've seen this before. Cutler underthrew Knox, and the Vikings' Cedric Griffin picked off the pass in the end zone.

Until that point, Cutler had been almost perfect, completing 14 of 16 passes. But there's a reason the Vikings are 9-1, just as there's a reason the Bears are 4-6. Minnesota's Jared Allen intercepted a deflected pass just before half.

Is it asking too much for the Bears to come up with a new storyline?

Photo: Vikings receiver Percy Harvin scores a second-quarter touchdown. (Scott Strazzante/Tribune)