Bears vs. Vikings 2012: Vikings catch 'big fish' against Chicago

The Minnesota Vikings 2012 season has been an stretch of ups-and-downs.

The Vikings started out hot, winning five of their first seven contests to move to the top of the NFC North with a 5-2 record. Then the struggles began. Minnesota dropped four of their next five, including two divisional losses, to move to 6-6 and on the outside looking in at the NFC playoff picture.

Ted Glover of SB Nation's Minnesota Vikings blog, Daily Norseman, writes that the season has reflected the plight of an average fisherman.

Sometimes, when I go fishing, I don't catch crap. I mean, I can't buy a fish. No matter what lure or bait I use, no matter what my presentation is, nothing. Other days, it's like they jump in the boat...But most of the time, it's somewhere in between. I'll go on a streak and catch a lot of fish in a short period of time, and then nothing. But at the end of the day, I usually end up getting a pretty decent fish, and at the end of the day it was a fun day fishing.

The comparison, especially for the Vikings, is apt. There have been good streaks, there have been bad streaks but you almost always land somewhere in the middle. And no matter how bad the recent stretch has been, you're all smiles the second you catch that fish. On Sunday against the Bears, the Vikings caught a big fish.

The Vikings got off to a really fast start...It was like nailing three fish in your first three casts.

Then the lull. Christian Ponder managed to hook his thumb, then he managed to crack a pole and get a snag in his line, and it looked like the day might be going south. But Harrison Smith ended the day strong by landing the best fish of the day, and everyone went home happy. And hey...ho...the Vikings won.

The win takes the Vikings to 7-6 on the season and keeps them very much alive in the playoff race. They will look to carry the momentum from Sunday into next week's matchup against the St. Louis Rams.