NFL Monday Night Football Week 16 – Watch Minnesota Vikings vs Chicago Bears Live on ESPN TV

Minnesota Vikings vs Chicago Bears
When: Monday, December 28, 2009 8:30 PM ET
Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

Minnesota Vikings (11-3) vs Chicago Bears (5-9) Preview

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre says he’s put aside any disagreements with coach Brad Childress. The coach and quarterback would both agree Favre needs to avoid the sort of late-season swoon that plagued him last year. If he can replicate his last performance against the Chicago Bears, that won’t be an issue.

Favre and the Vikings try to bounce back from their second loss in three games and possibly clinch a postseason bye Monday night when they visit the struggling Bears.

Minnesota lost 26-7 at Carolina last week in a game that will be best remembered for what Favre termed a “heated discussion” with Childress on the sideline. It occurred after the coach attempted to pull the veteran quarterback in the third quarter even as Minnesota held a one-point lead.

Childress insists he was trying to protect Favre from a Panthers pass rush that sacked him four times. The two talked twice during the week to clear the air about the dispute, which included the coach grabbing his quarterback’s arm.

What would help most to mend the Vikings now would be a victory over the Bears and a better performance from their quarterback.

Favre led the Vikings to a 10-1 start by throwing 24 touchdowns and three interceptions, but the 40-year-old has had three TDs and four interceptions in the three games since.

That dropoff is eerily similar to his final five games with the New York Jets last season. Favre helped that team open 8-3, but the Jets missed the playoffs by dropping four of their final five as he totaled nine interceptions and two TDs.

The Vikings (11-3) have already clinched a second straight NFC North title, but they could miss out on a first-round bye if their quarterback can’t turn things around.

Minnesota enters Week 16 one game ahead of Philadelphia, and would clinch a bye with a win and an Eagles loss. There’s also a faint chance of earning home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, but the Vikings would need two victories coupled with two losses by 13-1 New Orleans.

Playing a Bears team in disarray should help their cause, especially if Favre can repeat his performance from a 36-10 home win Nov. 29. In that game, he threw for a season-high 392 yards and three touchdowns, helping Minnesota rack up 537 total yards for its fourth win in five tries against Chicago (5-9).

The two teams last met in Week 12 of this season wherein Brett Favre passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Vikings past the Bears, 36-10. Last week in NFL Week 15, Minnesota was trounced by host Carolina, 26-7 while Chicago was embarrassed by Baltimore, 31-7.

So, let’s all wait and watch Vikings vs Bears live, Monday night.

You can watch Monday Night Football Week 16 Game Minnesota Vikings vs Chicago Bears Live at ESPN.

UPDATE: Bears beat the Vikings 36-30 in overtime. 

1 2 3 4 OT Total Minnesota 0 0 13 17 0 30 Final Chicago 3 13 7 7 6 36

Game Recap

The Bears blew a 16-point lead and allowed the Vikings to force OT, but won on Jay Cutler’s 39-yard TD pass to Devin Aromashodu.

Jay Cutler threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Devin Aromashodu in overtime, and the Chicago Bears beat the fading Minnesota Vikings 36-30 on Monday night to give New Orleans Saints homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Nick Roach recovered a fumble by Adrian Peterson following a catch, setting up Cutler’s fourth touchdown pass of the game and sending Minnesota (11-4) to its third loss in four games.

This one comes following a dustup between star quarterback Brett Favre and coach Brad Childress on the sideline last week, and it prevented the Vikings from locking up a first-round playoff bye. (Source: Yahoo! Sports)