Chicago Bears keep Adrian Peterson mostly in check

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was able to pick up 108 yards in Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears, but according to John Mullin of CSN Chicago, the Bears' defense felt they did a good enough job slowing Peterson down when it counted. One player called it a "soft hundred," given that many of Peterson's yards came in the second half:

"We played a lot of Cover-2, which is the stuff to do against them because he's such a good back," said linebacker Brian Urlacher. "We missed a lot of tackles in the first half and he got a few yards late in the game when it really didn't matter. We held him in check for the most part in the first half."

After the first half, Peterson only had 25 yards, while the Bears led the game 25-3. That isn't to say that they simply allowed Peterson to rack up yardage without trying to stop him in the second half, just that the Bears were able to play a different kind of defense to limit the potential for big plays in the passing game.

Chicago wanted to isolate Peterson on stunts, and they were able to do that. Much of his yardage came on runs that didn't help extend drives or push the Vikings into a position where they were contending for the win. In short, Peterson's 108 yards were essentially inconsequential to the game, hence the label of "soft hundred."