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Bears and Vikings play for first place in NFC North

Sep 19, 2006 - 9:45 PM Chicago (2-0) at Minnesota (2-0) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - Lovie Smith hopes the third time is the charm at the Metrodome.

First place in the NFC North Division is on the line Sunday when the Chicago Bears visit the Minnesota Vikings.

Smith guided the Bears to an 11-5 record and the division title last season in his second year as coach. But he is 0-2 at the Metrodome.

New Vikings coach Brad Childress is off to a 2-0 start with wins over Washington and Carolina - two playoff teams from last season.

The Bears have not won at the Metrodome since 2001, but last year's season finale here had no significance since Chicago had already clinched the division title and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

While Smith used a host of reserves on defense, Brad Johnson threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 34-10 victory. Moments after the win, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf fired coach Mike Tice.

The Bears used Kyle Orton and Jeff Blake at quarterback in the regular-season finale. That will not be the case on Sunday.

After three injury-plagued seasons, Rex Grossman is at the controls for the Bears. He passed for four touchdowns, nearly doubling his career total, and 289 yards in a 34-7 win over Detroit last week as Chicago improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2002.

Backup tight end John Gilmore caught two of the scoring passes. Bernard Berrian had five receptions for 89 yards, including a lunging 41-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, and tight end Desmond Clark caught five passes for 85 yards, including a 31-yard score.

But defense is what drives the Bears. They yielded 202 points last season and opened this year with a shutout of Green Bay before allowing just seven points to Detroit.

Minnesota's defense has been rather impressive in wins over Washington (19-16) and Carolina (16-13 in OT). And Childress certainly put his stamp on the win here last week, calling for a fake field goal that resulted in the tying touchdown.

Kicker Ryan Longwell took a flip from holder Chris Kluwe and threw a 16-yard scoring pass to tight end Richard Owens with 7:48 left in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 13-13.

Longwell kicked the winning 19-yard field goal 7:35 into overtime.

Johnson was his usual efficient self, completing 19-of-31 passes for 243 yards and an interception. Troy Williamson had six receptions for 102 yards.

The Vikings have been especially bolstered by the addition of Chester Taylor, who has handled the role of workhorse with 201 yards on 55 carries.

However, Minnesota needs to do a better job of pass protection after yielding five sacks to Carolina last week. The Bears have recorded nine sacks in their first two games, including two by defensive tackle Tommie Harris.