Vikings vs. Bears 2012: Vikings 'brutal' in nearly every phase

Coming off a big win against the Lions and well rested from the bye week, Sunday's game against Chicago was supposed to be the game the Vikings used to get back into the NFC playoff race. Instead, Chicago dominated, leaving Viking fans to call the performance "brutal."

Christopher Gates of the Daily Norseman summed up the performance by listing the good from the game. It wasn't a very long list.

The list of positives in this one is relatively short. Adrian Peterson was very good once again. Outside of that, it was pretty much a gigantic suck-fest at Soldier Field.

Unfortunately, as Gates points out, the Vikings' problems weren't limited. Christian Ponder struggled, the special teams had some issues, the play-calling could be second-guessed and the defense had its fair share of problems as well.

It was a bad time for the majority of the team to struggle, because the schedule doesn't do Minnesota any favors. This game could have given them a two-game winning streak and some positive momentum. Instead, as Gates said, it's hard to find much positive going forward.

But after a performance like the one our favorite football team put together today, it's hard to be optimistic. . .at least it is for this writer.