Julius Peppers

Following Monday night's loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Chicago Bears defense will try to redeem themselves against the Minnesota Vikings. 

The Bears gave up 355 total yards, including 243 and two touchdowns to first-time starter Colin Kaepernick.

The defense looked off from the beginning and was never able to recover.

Sunday afternoon, the Bears head back home to face the a Vikings team who is a surprising 6-4 this season, led by running back Adrian Peterson.

Less than nine months after tearing both his ACL and MCL in his left knee, Peterson returned to the field for the Vikings.  Many thought it would take him some time to strengthen his knee before taking on a heavy workload, but now heading into the 12th week of the season, he leads the NFL in rushing yards with 1,128. In his last four games, he is averaging nearly 158 yards per game.

His combination of speed, strength and agility makes him one of, if not the best running back in the game.  Many were skeptical if he would still be able to cut the same way on his surgically repaired knee, but he has looked just as good as ever this season.

Apart from his first meeting against the Bears in his rookie season in which he rushed for 224 yards and three touchdowns, Peterson has averaged 86 yards per game and only 45 per game in his last two. 

Monday night should have taught the Bears the benefit of wrapping up, as they struggled to take down Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter all night.  Linebackers Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher will have to move more fluidly to the runner on Sunday in comparison to Monday night if they have any chance at slowing down Peterson.

A questionable first-round pick of the Vikings in 2011, Christian Ponder has had his share of ups and downs this season. He has put up strong performances, such as his 24-of-32 for 331 yards and two-touchdown performance against the Lions in Week 10 but has had notable poor performances like the ones against the Seahawks and the Cardinals (average 36.4 QB rating).

The Bears will have to get pressure on Ponder, as he has a tendency to rush plays when under duress. He does have the ability to get out of the pocket and run, but he doesn't have the ability to throw the ball downfield accurately and has benefited from the strong play of Percy Harvin.

Harvin has been, along with Peterson, a lightning rod for the Vikings offense. His status is still up in the air for Sunday following a sprained ankle in Week 10 (h/t ESPN), but the Bears will need to be prepared for him.  He plays well in space, and the Vikings like to utilize his quickness with short screens, running slants and even running him out of the backfield. 

It will be interesting to see who the Bears line up with him (likely Tim Jennings), and they will have to get better play from safeties Chris Conte and Major Wright.

Veterans Michael Jenkins and Jerome Simpson provide big targets downfield, but Ponder has simply struggled to get them the ball. Still, the Bears secondary will need to be cautious of their ability.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph came back alive in Week 10, hauling in seven catches for 64 yards and one touchdown following a three-game stretch in which he only caught two passes 17 yards.  He is quick and sure-handed, and he has good size that can cause defenses fits. 

The Bears struggled against 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, and expect Major Wright to get plenty of snaps lined up against Rudolph.  He will have to use his speed to keep up with him, primarily in the red zone.

While the Vikings' success running the ball largely hinges on the incredible abilities of Adrian Peterson, the offensive line has played tremendously in the running game this season. The left side is anchored by 2012 fourth overall pick Matt Kalil, and he has lived up to the hype.  He has been great in pass protection and has shown to be a powerful run blocker, but he still has room for improvement. 

He'll be likely facing Julius Peppers on Sunday and will have to go up against one of the best pass-rushers in the game.  Peppers will have to be mindful, though, of Ponder's ability to run outside of the pocket and will have to fight against rushing too deep.

Left guard Charlie Johnson and center John Sullivan are experienced veterans, and Johnson has made a seamless move from left tackle to left guard.  The right side of the line is less known, with Brandon Fusco and Phil Loadholt, but both have played well and continue to make progress each week.  The Bears struggled to get any pass rush on Monday night, and they may try and attack the less-talented right side of the line.

Matt Eurich is a contributor to Bearsbacker.com. Follow Bears Backer on Facebook and Twitter for up to the minute news about the Bears. Also, check out Matt’s work on BleacherReport.com and follow him on Twitter @MattEurich.

Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers started off the 2012 season on a strong note, but his play has tapered off as of late. Peppers started off the first two games of the season with two sacks over the first three games and added five QB pressures. 

Over the last three games, Peppers has half a sack and zero hits on the QB. This marks the low point of his pass-rushing production with the Bears. By comparison, when Peppers went without a sack during the 2011 season, he would rack up no less than two QB pressures per game. 

So the question now becomes as the season wears on: Is Peppers' plantar fasciitis getting worse?  The pain caused by this foot ailment is something that will nag him the rest of the season, and it seems to be effecting his production. 

Peppers has played at a high level throughout his tenure in Chicago, but over the last three games, his production has decreased. Age doesn't seem to be a factor as much as the nagging injuries that seem to be slowing one of the premier pass-rushers in the game. 

Corey Wootton during that same time has stepped up his play in far less snaps than Peppers.  Wootton excelled in the Jacksonville game, racking up two sacks, one hit and two QB pressures in just 13 pass-rushing snaps. 

Wootton also changed the entire momentum of the game with one huge forced fumble. With the Jaguars deep in Chicago territory, threatening to score to take a 10-3, Wootton burst around the edge sacking QB Blaine Gabbert and knocking the ball out. 

That turnover completely halted the momentum the Jaguars had on offense early in the first half.

On defense, the Bears pass rush has been almost non-existent over the last two games. In the first three weeks, the front four was racking up numerous sacks, hits and pressures. Only a good game by Wootton last week and Henry Melton the week before has kept the pass rush from being down right anemic. 

The hope is that with a week off, Peppers can come back fresh and ready for the stretch run of the season. On the other hand, if the pain starts to affect his play again, the Bears may want to consider limiting his pass rushing snaps and increasing Wootton's snaps. 

Wootton has proven that he plays like a poor man's Julius Peppers. Wootton has ideal size at 6'6", 270 lbs. and the strength and speed off the edge to go with that length and weight combination. 

The Bears pass rush may not be able to play at the high level it did to start the season, but it needs to develop a higher level of consistency after the bye-week. The Bears figure to be 7-1 entering the toughest part of their schedule, back-to-back showdowns with two teams favored to play in the Super Bowl at the start of the season, the Texans and 49ers.  

'Good luck.'

That's the message Jay Cutler had for the Green Bay Packers' secondary. 

Oh, and he would like them to play press coverage.

Cocky? Maybe, especially after just one win. However, that's Jay Cutler these days according to Jon Greenberg of ESPN Chicago.

Unlike in years past, it's no false bravado though. He has the best set of weapons he's ever had, a much better offensive coordinator and that should fill him with confidence.

You want your quarterback to be a little cocky. 

Calling out the opposing defense though... well, while I like the moxie, I always think it's a dangerous game.

Take the New York Jets. You have to love Rex Ryan's bravado—for the first year. After a couple of years you just want to say to him, 'Dude, just quit yapping and win.'

Cutler has one win under his belt this year, and the Packers looked more than a bit off last week.

However, Chicago is not without flaws, and the Packers are well equipped to make mincemeat of a shaky offensive line. They have a very potent offense as well, and the Bears' secondary has some question marks.

Cutler has every reason to be confident. Every right to be cocky.

He might want to avoid calling out a division rival just before a huge game.

On the other hand, what would we write about if he didn't?

Moving on to other smack talking divisional rivals...

Chicago Bears

Mark Potash of the Sun-Times says the Bears could actually play with a lead against Green Bay thanks to their new-fangled offense.

Interesting tweet from the Tribune's Vaughn McClure regarding the varied combinations defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli threw at Indianapolis.

Over at ChicagoBears.com, Larry Mayer talks about how the Bears have done on a short week along with some other things in his Q&A this week. 

Detroit Lions

MLive.com's Justin Rogers thinks the Niners are vulnerable to the Lions' big-pass weapons.

I was excited to see that Holy Schwartz! has a new post up analyzing the clock 'error' at the end of the Lions' win on Sunday.

The Free Press' Dave Birkett says Matt Stafford could throw for 350 yards this week.

Green Bay Packers

Aaron Nagler in his alternate reality persona at CheeseheadTV.com gives you everything you need to know going into the Packers-Bears tilt tonight.

The Journal-Sentinel's Bob McGinn says the Packers should deal Greg Jennings before the trade deadline.

Over at Pocket Doppler, Colleen pontificates a bit on the continued referee labor strife.

Minnesota Vikings

Judd Zulgad at 1500 ESPN says the Vikings are looking to mix up their defensive schemes a bit.

This is only kind of vaguely attached to football, but the guys at Daily Norseman are helping their sister site 'Hockey Wilderness' try to win money for a very worthy charity called Defend the Blue Line, which helps the children of military members get involved in hockey. All you have to do is head to Facebook and vote.

I love Chris Kluwe. He continues to entertain me, yes, but he also stands firmly for what he believes in and isn't shy about speaking his mind. He recently slammed a politician for writing to the Ravens saying linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo should keep his support for gay marriage quiet, and when Commisioner Goodell also backed Ayanbadejo, Kluwe (who has disagreed with Goodell on, well, everything else) supported his Commish.

Check out the B/R NFC North Facebook page—like us and keep up with everything NFC North on Bleacher Report! Follow me on Twitter at @andrew_garda.