CHICAGO — Chicago’s defense has not been able to stop much this season, and opposing running backs have often had their way with the once-feared unit.

They are 28th against the run, allowing 135.6 yards per game, and have allowed 19 rushes of 10 or more yards, including five of 20-plus. They surrendered 163 yards on 12 carries to Jahvid Best in a loss to the Lions last weekend, one game after allowing 134 yards to Carolina’s two-headed rushing monster of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

Next up: Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. And Chicago is catching him at a bad time: Right when he’s getting hot. Coming off his best game of the season — and the Vikings’ first win — Peterson is second in the league with 498 yards and six TDs.

“He’s, if not the best, he’s up there in the top-three backs that I’ve faced in the NFL since I’ve been here. And he’s playing well right now,” said linebacker Lance Briggs, the Bears’ leading tackler (54). “He’s coming off NFC Player of the Week, so the guys are going to have to buckle their chin straps and get their nose in it.”

Peterson has not had more than 94 yards in a game against the Bears since 2008, but they know what he can do. He sat out with an injury the last time the two teams met — a 40-14 Bear victory at TCF Bank Stadium last Dec. 20 — but they have picked up enough to know all about him.

“There’s only one way to stop him, and that’s everybody being sound, guys being in their gaps and playing as a team,” defensive end Israel Idonije said. “And, every guy on the field has to be running to the ball.”

Peterson hasn’t had less than 78 yards rushing in a game this year, and has gone over 100 twice, including last week’s 122-yard performance. He had three first-quarter touchdowns that nearly put the game away early.

“One thing we pride ourselves on is establishing the line up front and establishing that run game. We were able to open up a lot of options for our quarterback and receivers,” Peterson said in a telephone interview. “In the running game, to be able to establish that offensive front and get a push, and create some holes for the running back, it goes hand in hand.”

The Bears are game-planning to stop Peterson, but that can be easier said than done. Chicago’s linebacking duo of Briggs and Brian Urlacher (37 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery and return for a touchdown) have been their all-pro selves, but the defensive line has been inconsistent. It will need to be better to slow down Peterson.

“I’m sure Rod Marinelli and their defensive staff are going to improve that thing,” Vikings head coach, and former Bear player, Leslie Frazier said. “I’m sure they’ll get it corrected.”

This would be a good time to get that done, or a bad time to face Peterson.

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

The Chicago Bears kept Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson from
hurting them in the NFC North rivals’ most recent matchup at Soldier Field.

This time, they might need to be equally concerned with Jared Allen(notes) and his
fellow defensive linemen.

The disruptive Vikings will try to take advantage of a beleaguered Bears
offensive line and claim consecutive victories for only the second time in two
seasons Sunday night.

Peterson had a season-best 122 yards and matched a career high with three
touchdowns last week as Minnesota claimed its first win of the season, routing
visiting Arizona 34-10. The Vikings (1-4) got two sacks apiece from Allen -
giving him an NFL-best 8 1/2 – and fellow defensive end Brian Robison(notes), who is
tied for ninth in the league with 4 1/2.

Allen has 8 1/2 sacks in six career matchups with Chicago and had two in the
previous game at Soldier Field, a 27-13 loss Nov. 14.

“(The Vikings) are going to let that front four go to work, and we have to
find a way to block them,” said Bears quarterback Jay Cutler(notes), who has thrown for
13 TDs in his five games against the Vikings.

Minnesota is tied for second in the league with 16 sacks and its defensive
linemen have collected all but one of those. The Vikings will try to use that
pass rush to claim only their second win in 11 games in Chicago and first since
2007.

The Bears have allowed the third-most sacks in the league (18), and Cutler
was taken down three times – and hurried countless others – during a 24-13 loss
in Detroit on Monday night.

Chicago’s offensive line also committed a stunning nine false-start
penalties.

“I’m sure they’re going to do everything possible to fix some of the
problems they had on Monday night and during the season. We got to be prepared
to adjust to any changes they make,” said Vikings coach and former Bears
cornerback Leslie Frazier. “We need our pass rush to be working for us.”

While scrambling often, Cutler managed to throw for 249 yards and a
touchdown against the Lions, and Matt Forte(notes) topped 100 yards for the second
straight game with 116 on 22 carries. Chicago (2-3), though, only scored three
points after halftime and gave up its second touchdown of 70-plus yards in the
third quarter.

“It’s time to do some soul searching and see what each of us is really made
of,” cornerback Charles Tillman(notes) said. “We can either tuck our tails between our
legs and go run away or man up and fight and get this thing turned around.”

The Bears gave up a season-worst 181 rushing yards in the loss and are
surrendering an NFL-worst 5.7 yards per carry, but they’ve held Peterson to less
than 100 in each of the past two games in Chicago.

He gained 51 yards on 17 carries at Soldier Field last November and failed
to score for the first time in seven matchups.

Peterson was nursing ankle and knee injuries during a 40-14 loss to the
Bears on Dec. 20.

To snap their three-game skid against the Bears, the Vikings could use a
similar performance from their running back and a better one from Donovan
McNabb(notes). The veteran quarterback’s completion percentage (56.8) and yards per
attempt (6.43) both rank 27th in the league.

McNabb hasn’t thrown for more than 262 yards in any of his seven
regular-season matchups with his hometown team, but has prevailed in five of
those, including a 17-14 victory with Washington last season at Soldier Field.

He might have former Bears receiver Bernard Berrian(notes) back to help him.
Berrian was on the inactive list for last week’s game for undisclosed reasons, a
punishment he says he’s “already over.”

“I don’t foresee any future problems. I really expect him to play at a high
level for us and play well,” Frazier said.

Berrian, who has two catches for 37 yards, was part of a brief Twitter feud
with a state lawmaker following a 22-17 loss in Kansas City on Oct. 2. Another
former Chicago wideout, Devin Aromashodu(notes), has 115 yards and a touchdown over the
last two games.

The Bears, meanwhile, are hoping to have Julius Peppers(notes) available. The
defensive end, who signed a six-year deal worth $91.5 million before the start
of last season, briefly exited Monday’s game after spraining his left knee.
Coach Lovie Smith said Peppers’ knee was “still sore” on Wednesday.

Chicago might also get defensive end Corey Wootton(notes) back. After missing three
games with a knee injury before returning Oct. 2, he sat out the loss to Detroit
with a broken hand.

The Bears are tied for 21st with nine sacks, five of which came in a
season-opening win over Atlanta.

A fourth straight victory over Minnesota would give Chicago its longest
streak since a series-best six-game run Dec. 11, 1983-Oct. 5, 1986.

There is undoubtedly a part of Mike Martz that will be tempted. The Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator will see the Green Bay Packers’ difficulty defending the pass and will feel an urge to start calling passes all over Soldier Field on Sunday. And if he does, writes David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears should fire him — immediately.

Haugh: “If I were general manager Jerry Angelo or [coach Lovie] Smith, I would make clear if Martz goes rogue once more, as he did when the offense inexplicably had a 3-to-1 pass-to-run ratio in the third quarter of a close game, the Bears will move on. One more game plan recklessly putting [Jay] Cutler in harm’s way, the way calling 52 passes to 11 runs did, and I either would fire Martz or strip him of play-calling duties on the spot.”

That’s a strong sentiment, to be sure. The Bears have some talented assistants on their staff, but unless I’m mistaken, none of them have experience as an offensive playcaller. But the point isn’t so much that calling too many passes, as Martz did last Sunday against the New Orleans, should be a fireable offense. It’s that the Bears already addressed the issue with Martz last year, making Sunday’s game a suspicious case of at least passive insubordination.

I highly doubt the Bears would fire Martz during the season, but it’s clear the Bears need to raise the urgency of the message Martz is hearing.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• Bears running back Matt Forte has accounted for 52 percent of the team’s yardage, notes Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• The Bears shouldn’t let Cutler off the hook for his role in Sunday’s debacle, writes Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com.
• Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel profiles Green Bay Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji.
• Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette considers how the Packers will pick up the pieces after the season-ending neck injury of safety Nick Collins.
• The Packers lost receiver Chastin West from their practice squad. West signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ active roster, according to multiple reports.
• The Detroit Lions’ running game is a work in progress, writes Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press.
• Lions safety Louis Delmas on rookie receiver Titus Young, via Terry Foster of the Detroit News: “That dude might be the cockiest humble guy you will ever know. He does not talk like that, but you can tell by his swagger and style of play out on the field that he has a lot of confidence.”
• The Lions’ personnel upgrade on defense has been evident this season, writes Justin Rogers of Mlive.com.
• Three veterans addressed the Minnesota Vikings on Monday to urge their teammates to remain calm in the face of a 0-2 record, writes Mark Craig of the Star Tribune. The players were quarterback Donovan McNabb, left guard Steve Hutchinson and defensive end Jared Allen.
• McNabb, via Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: “[E]veryone isn’t sitting there pointing fingers. This isn’t the time to be pointing fingers. I don’t believe in that anyway.”
• The Vikings waived defensive end Adrian Awasom to make room on the roster for defensive tackle Kevin Williams, notes Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.

The Chicago Bears have listed Adrian native Kellen Davis as their starting tight end.

The Bears released their first official depth chart Wednesday, and Davis topped the tight end list ahead of Matt Spaeth and Desmond Clark.

“Kellen has stepped to the forefront and really established himself as not just a blocker but a pretty dynamic receiver if you have seen him in practice,” Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz told reporters Wednesday. “He’s done a great job there, so there are some things coming out of this that we feel excited about.”

The Bears traded tight end Greg Olsen to the Carolina Panthers two weeks ago, allowing Davis to push for the starting spot.

Davis (6-foot-7, 267 pounds) and Spaeth (6-7, 260) are expected to improve Chicago’s running attack.

“We’ve got two tight ends that we think can block a defensive end by themselves,” Martz told reporters last week. “That’s hard to do in the National Football League.

“You get a tight end that’s 270 pounds, with that big ol’ wing span, you don’t have to double-team the edge to get outside. It allows you a freedom in the running game that you would normally not have. Instead of running away from them (the tight ends), you can run at him and expect him to win without getting help from the tackle.”

The Bears host the Buffalo Bills for their preseason opener Saturday night at Solider Field.

A 2003 Adrian High School graduate, Davis enters his fourth professional season. The Bears selected Davis out of Michigan State in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

Davis has 10 receptions for 94 yards and four touchdowns in 32 career regular-season games (five starts) with the Bears.

Last regular season, Davis made one catch for a 19-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. He made two catches for 42 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks.