CHICAGO _ Soldier Field turned back into a house of horrors for the Vikings on Halloween night.
Thanks to a monstrous performance from their rookie running back and a pass rush that spooked Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford, the last-place Chicago Bears beat the Vikings 20-10 on Monday night.
Jordan Howard, the 222-pound bruiser the Bears drafted in the fifth round of this year's draft, piled up 202 yards from scrimmage _ including 153 rushing _ against what had been the NFL's top-ranked defense.
And the leaky Vikings offensive line, which was their undoing in last week's 21-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, were beaten for five sacks.
The only Vikings touchdown came on a late 25-yard pass from Sam Bradford to Stefon Diggs.
The Vikings trailed 20-3 after three quarters. Unlike early-season victories at Tennessee and Carolina, they were unable to rally quickly and suffered their 14th loss in their past 16 games at Soldier Field. Their 23-20 win here last year ended a seven-game losing streak in Chicago.
The Bears grabbed an early 3-0 lead after Howard found a seam in the Vikings defense, then plodded downfield for a nice 69-yard gain. Rookie safety Jayron Kearse had a chance to limit the damage but took a bad angle on the run.
Later in the first quarter, the Vikings failed to connect on what should have been a long touchdown to Diggs. The wideout got behind the Bears secondary but Bradford's pass was a little long and Diggs could not make the diving catch.
Quarterback Jay Cutler put the Bears in position to kick another field goal with a nifty play on third down. He stepped up in the pocket to avoid blitzing safety Harrison Smith, then flipped a shovel pass to Howard, who rumbled for 34 yards. Bears kicker Connor Barth booted a 28-yarder after cornerback Xavier Rhodes broke up a pass to Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery in the end zone.
The Bears increased their lead to 13-0 midway through the second quarter. They caught the Vikings with a screen pass to Howard on third-and-9, then Cutler hit tight end Zach Miller for a 21-yard gain to move into the red zone. The Bears then simply overpowered the defensive front on Howard's 2-yard touchdown run.
The Vikings defense entered the game having allowed a league-low 13 plays of 20 or more yards in their first six games. They gave up four more in the first half alone as the Bears outgained them 234 yards to 98 before halftime.
The Vikings, whose offense went nearly 20 minutes of action without producing a first down, finally caught the break they needed on a bizarre third-down play where Bradford was hit as he threw, causing him to throw a backward pass.
Bears defensive end Akiem Hicks had an opportunity to scoop up the loose fumble but was too busy celebrating what he thought was an incompletion. On the sideline, Bears backup defensive end Cornelius Washington also assumed the play was dead, ran onto the field while the play was ongoing and was flagged.
The 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty kept the Vikings drive alive. But after they advanced inside the 5-yard line, Bradford was sacked again on third down, forcing the Vikings to bring out Blair Walsh to kick a 30-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half.
The Bears, though, made it 20-3 early in the third quarter with Cutler's 11-yard touchdown pass to Jeffery. Jeffery beat second-year cornerback Trae Waynes, who had subbed in after Rhodes limped off the field earlier in the drive, for the score.
