noon Sunday
Soldier Field
TV: Ch. 9
(100.3-FM, 1130-AM)
Line: Off the board
RECORD: 7-3
The Bears should have quarterback Jay Cutler back. Cutler (concussion) was cleared to practice Wednesday. He missed Monday night's 32-7 loss in San Francisco.
Chicago has 30 takeaways this season, 19 of them interceptions. They have returned seven interceptions for touchdowns.
Cornerback Charles Tillman has forced seven fumbles. The other starting cornerback, Tim Jennings, has a league-high eight interceptions.
Former Vikings coach Mike Tice is in his first season as Chicago's offensive coordinator.
Receiver Brandon Marshall, acquired in a trade from Miami, has 69 receptions for 925 yards and eight touchdowns.
On Vikings RB Adrian Peterson: "Is he having a good year? I don't know. I don't get to watch a lot of football, because we usually play on Sundays." (Yes, he was joking.)
On the NFC North: "It's usually a two-team race, and I'm sure when it comes down to it, it's going to be [this year] as well. All three of us have a tough schedule coming up, and I think there will be two teams that stand out."
On the Bears defense: "We're old. I'm tired of hearing it. The last four or five years we've been old. We'll just keep out there and doing our best and try to tackle the guy with the football."
COACH SPEAK lovie smith
On Cutler: "We have a good backup plan, but it is a backup plan. When we go with Jason Campbell ... Jason can do some good things, but Jay is our starter. He is one of the best quarterbacks playing the game. We are a different football team with him."
On the loss to San Francisco: "Some games the team is just better than you. There's just not a lot of explanations for it, they did everything better than us Monday night."
On the NFC North: "Last year, I know when we played the Vikings at the end, as I talked with Leslie [Frazier] after the game, I said, 'Hey, next year the two of us will be competing,' because I know we both had good football teams where breaks went against our team."
CHRIS MILLER
It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.
