JAY CUTLER RETURNED from injury and threw for 252 yards and a touchdown Monday to lead the struggling Chicago Bears to a 20-10 upset of the Minnesota Vikings.
Rookie Jordan Howard ran for 153 yards and a score for the Bears, who improved to 2-6.
Cutler, who missed five games with a sprained thumb, completed 20 of 31 passes as the Bears snapped a three-game losing streak.
His 11-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery gave the Bears a 20-3 lead with 9:52 remaining in the third quarter, and Jeffery his first TD of the season.
The Vikings, who opened the season with five straight wins, came into the contest off their first defeat of the year.
They were unable to right the ship, failing to reach the end zone until late in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Sam Bradford connected with Stefon Diggs on a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Bradford threw for 228 yards in the defeat as the Bears defense poured on the pressure with five sacks.
The dominant defense saw the Bears up 13-3 at halftime, having forced the Vikings to punt on their first five possessions.
Howard energized the Bears with a 69-yard run just three plays into the game to set up Connor Barth’s field goal that gave the Bears a 3-0 lead.
Howard’s two-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put the Bears up by 13.
(C) AFP 2016
