CHICAGO _ Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky spent much of Sunday's game against the Vikings sitting on a bench on the Soldier Field sideline, nursing an injured left shoulder.
Defensive linemen Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols were sidelined. So were right guard Kyle Long and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel. Inside linebacker Roquan Smith also was missing.
The Bears didn't blink.
Without six starters, they still dominated the Vikings in a 16-6 victory to join the Packers atop the NFC North with a 3-1 record.
After Trubisky went down with the injury on a first-quarter sack by Danielle Hunter, backup quarterback Chase Daniel led the Bears to a touchdown on the same drive, finding Tarik Cohen for a 10-yard pass.
Daniel completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and helped the Bears chew up the clock, with the Bears possessing the ball for 35 minutes, 27 seconds.
Kicker Eddy Pineiro, who was recovering from a right knee injury all week, made all three of his field-goal attempts to help the Bears take a comfortable lead.
Meanwhile, the Bears defense had two takeaways, and held the Vikings running game _ best in the league entering Sunday _ to 40 yards on 16 carries. Backups such as inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (nine tackles, sack) and defensive linemen Nick Williams (seven tackles, two sacks) and Roy Robertson-Harris (1{ sacks) shined in their opportunities to step into bigger roles.
