Our snapshot look at the Vikings as they prepare for Sunday's game against the Bears at Mall of America Field.PLAYER IN THE SPOTLIGHT christian ponder
The Vikings quarterback called last week's stinker in Green Bay a "wake-up call." Actually, it was more like an annoying snooze alarm that Christian Ponder has been hitting and going back to sleep on over the past seven games.
When the Vikings were 4-1 heading to Washington, Ponder ranked 10th in the league with a 95.5 passer rating. He had completed 69 percent of his passes for 1,082 yards (216.4 per game), six touchdowns and two interceptions.
Today, he's 25th in passer rating (79.4). In his past seven starts, he's 2-5 while completing 58 percent of his passes for 1,219 yards (174.1), eight touchdowns and nine interceptions.
"I know that I need to play better," Ponder said.
Doing so is another matter. This is Ponder's 23rd career start. It's also the most important one to date. If he fails Sunday, the final three games this season won't mean as much in evaluating Ponder because the pressure of being in the playoff race will have disappeared.
MOST PRESSING QUESTION
Can the Vikings' defense hold on third down?
Better yet, can the Vikings force the Bears into third-and-long situations?
During their 28-10 rout of the Vikings two weeks ago, the Bears had 19 third downs. Fourteen of them were third-and-6 or shorter. They converted 11 of those situations (78.6) and were 0-for-5 on third-and-8 or longer, with one of those a kneel down to end the game.
To compensate for horrendous pass protection, the Bears have been running shorter routes with quicker dropbacks of late. It's a tactic that's less successful in third-and-long situations.
