Vikings stay in playoff control

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brian Urlacher and the Chicago Bears had Adrian Peterson all bottled up, at least until it really counted.

Peterson’s 8-yard touchdown run, started by a shoulder-shake to fake Urlacher at the line of scrimmage, sent the Minnesota Vikings to their fifth straight victory, 20-13 over the Bears on Monday night.

The Vikings (8-6) stayed in control of the NFC’s last wild-card spot, despite four turnovers and a missed extra point. Tarvaris Jackson threw three interceptions, his first bad game in more than one month.

Urlacher’s brilliant play had the Chicago Bears clinging to a 13-12 lead after three quarters.

Urlacher intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in the first half and added two sacks in the third quarter to help the battered Bears defense looked like the playmaking unit of old.

After struggling for the first 35 minutes, the Vikings finally got the big play they were looking for in the third quarter when Robert Ferguson broke two tackles on a 71-yard catch and run to set up a 1-yard TD by Peterson.

Ryan Longwell missed the extra point to make the score 13-12, and Tarvaris Jackson threw three interceptions as the Vikings struggled offensively.

Nathan Vasher also intercepted an ill-advised pass from Jackson in the final minute of the first half.