(My Sportsbook) - The Chicago Bears, coming off yet another disappointing setback, will travel to Minnesota to meet the Vikings in an NFC North affair on Sunday at the Metrodome.

The Bears, who are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, were handed a 23-20 loss at the hands of the Detroit Lions when Jason Hanson booted a 48- yard field goal 4:42 into overtime. The Bears turned the ball over three times in the loss, leading to 14 points for the Lions. While the offense was dropping the ball, the defense was allowing James Stewart to rush for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

"Obviously, you can't turn the ball over like we turned the ball over and then have the opponent run the ball on you like they ran the ball and think you're going to win the game," said head coach Dick Jauron. "That really is the story in that game. We gave it up twice in the first half resulting in 14 points. The only turnover that we got resulted in three points. There's your football game."

The Vikings are also coming off a tough loss. Minnesota dropped a 20-7 decision to the New York Jets in Week 7. QB Daunte Culpepper completed 26- of-39 passing attempts for 288 yards, but he also threw three costly interceptions. All-Pro wideout Randy Moss was held to just four receptions for 86 yards.

"You could hear a pin drop [in the locker room following the game]," coach Mike Tice said. "[The loss] really hurt the guys. Really hurt. They were very, very quiet and very focused. We've lost five games this season, but I really felt [the loss to the Jets] took a big chunk out of the guys. It zinged us pretty good.

"I'm fed up with losing. I hate losing," he added. "It's got to change. There are no magical answers. The answers are get your players to play more confident, and don't turn the football over. And if we fix that, we can win some games. If we don't fix that, we're going to continue to go down the hole and lose."

SERIES HISTORY: Minnesota leads the series against Chicago, 44-37-2, but the Bears have won the past three meetings, including a 27-23 win back in Week 1. The last time these teams squared off in Minnesota was in November 2001, when Chicago RB James Allen rushed for 107 yards en route to a 13-6 victory.

Jauron is 4-3 lifetime against the Vikings, while Tice lost his only game against the Bears.

BEARS OFFENSE

The Bears' offense is depending on quarterback Jim Miller to return healthy this week. Miller, who missed the Detroit game with tendinitis in his right elbow and shoulder, was replaced by Chris Chandler. The veteran Chandler proved to be a disappointment in his first start with the Bears, completing 16-of-25 passes for just 163 yards and also mixed in a touchdown and an interception. According to his coach, the interception was the critical mistake.

"I have a lot of confidence in Chris. I've said it all the time," Jauron said. "But the ball he threw for the interception, you just can't do that kind of thing. You can't throw that ball like that.

"He threw some great balls, too. He put the ball on the money a number of times and got a lot of pressure. He was pressured in there. We'll be able to sit down and look at every play in detail, but Chris is really a good player."

The quarterback situation isn't helping the offense, but it's the running game that has been the biggest disappointment thus far. During the losing streak, the Bears have averaged just 77.8 yards per game on the ground. On the season, they have only averaged 82.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 29th in the NFL. Considering the ground game was the team's strength a year ago when the team finished 13-3 and won a division title, the lack of a consistent running game can be attributed to the team's dismal record thus far.

Anthony Thomas, who was named the 2001 Offensive Rookie of the Year, rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown last week, but he also fumbled the ball three times (Detroit recovered two of them). Turnovers like that were few and far between a year ago.

"I made a couple of mistakes; I'm not known for doing that," Thomas admitted. "I made a couple of mistakes; I'm not known for doing that," Thomas admitted. "It happened. I don't know how it happened. I thought I was putting the ball away, but I guess I wasn't putting it away enough. Guys see you do that one time and they're going to shoot for it more."

The offensive line has also been a huge problem, but that's mostly due to injuries. Last week, the team was forced to play two inexperienced players in rookie left tackle Marc Colombo and second-year left guard Mike Gandy.

"Of course we weren't in sync like we want to be, but we are going to get there," said All-Pro center Olin Kreutz. "I thought [Colombo and Gandy] played well. We didn't win the game and that's all that counts. We all didn't play well enough. But it didn't seem to me that there were any disasters out there.

"They came out and played hard. Those are two guys who work hard and want it. They study hard, they work late. You know they are going to be decent. But after a loss it is hard to find anything positive."

This week, the ground game should work well because Minnesota's run defense is one of the worst in the NFL. It will also be necessary to get a strong rushing attack going because the Vikings will likely double WR Marty Booker. That will take away the Bears' passing threat because Dez White and Marcus Robinson have not stepped up in David Terrell's absence.

VIKINGS DEFENSE

The Vikings, who rank near the bottom of the league in most defensive categories, are giving up an average of 391.3 yards per game (29th in NFL) and 30.9 points per game (30th in NFL). They rank ninth in the league in run defense, giving up an average of 96.3 yards per contest, but that number doesn't reflect the truth. In fact, the Vikings' biggest flaw is their inability to stop the run, but teams are finding they can move the ball just as well through the air.

Last week, the Jets entered the contest with the 28th-ranked offense, both in yards gained and in points scored, but the Vikings' defense still surrendered 20 points and 407 yards. It also allowed New York QB Chad Pennington to complete 24-of-29 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown.

"The receivers [Pennington] hit, sometimes there wasn't a guy within five yards of him," said DE Kenny Mixon. "But it starts up front. The D-line needs to get some pressure up front. We just have to. One hand washes the other."

The pass rush has been brutal thus far. The Vikings have only sacked opposing quarterbacks 10 times, and the lack of a pass rush exposes the team's weak secondary.

"We didn't rush the passer very well and we didn't play very good coverage," defensive coordinator Willie Shaw admitted. "Other than that? Too much adversity for a young team. They couldn't handle the adversity."

This week, the Vikings should be more concerned about Chicago's running attack and less concerned with adversity. Thomas feels he has something to prove and will be given the chance because the team has injuries at wide receiver.

The Vikings will counter Chicago's ground game by starting rookie outside linebacker Nick Rogers in place of Patrick Chukwurah. Rogers is much quicker than Chukwurah, but he isn't as big, so he could struggle against Chicago's power running game.

"Nick is going to be our guy," Tice said. "I think the linebacker corps we've got in there right now with Nick and [Greg] Biekert and [Henri] Crockett gives us our best opportunity to win.

"I think Nick Rogers is certainly a great addition to our football team in the sixth round [of April's draft] out of Georgia Tech. We really like Nick and he is going to be a guy that I think we can win some football games with."

VIKINGS OFFENSE

Culpepper has a lot of weapons at his disposal, but he continues to throw the football to opposing defensive backs. He has already thrown 12 interceptions this year and the Vikings have 14 more turnovers than takeaways. But Culpepper remains confident despite his numerous errors and the 20 turnovers the offense has committed thus far.

"My confidence is fine," Culpepper said. "I come here. I'm ready to work. I'm eager to get going. I'm very optimistic still about the season. We're sitting 1-5 but I think we have ten games left. We got a long way and we still can get to where we want to get. We got to take it one play at a time, one game at a time.

"I personally have to be a little bit more patient. I get fired up and want to make things happen but I've got to continue to be patient. When I'm patient and let the game come to me, good things happen. I just have to continue to be patient and keep working hard and when the opportunity comes to make a play just make it."

Culpepper's patience has been a problem all year. When his receivers fail to get open, rather than throw the ball away, he often tries to force the ball into coverages and the results have not been good.

His main problem is the lack of a second receiver. Neither D'Wayne Bates nor Derrick Alexander has emerged as the legitimate threat opposite Moss. Not only has that hurt Moss' production, but it leaves Culpepper without a second option. Last week, Bates stepped up and caught six balls for 86 yards, but he has been hot and cold all season. The same can be said for Alexander, who looks like an All-Pro one week and the next he will be a non-factor.

The Vikings' offensive line hasn't done much to help Culpepper get out of his season-long slump. Culpepper has been sacked 17 times already. That's a terrible number, considering Culpepper rarely holds on to the ball too long and also because he's a very mobile quarterback who will run when his receivers are covered.

Minnesota ranks fourth in the league in total offense, averaging 383.5 yards per game. If the team could just hold on to the football it would put points on the board.

This week, the Vikings will hope to find continued success running the football. They average 138.7 yards per game on the ground and will continue to pound the ball this week against Chicago's struggling defense.

BEARS DEFENSE

The Bears will be without two starting defensive linemen this week, as tackle Ted Washington continues to sit out with an ankle injury and Bryan Robinson has been suspended because he was arrested for drunk driving last Friday.

"It's a very short season and we ask for everything they have," Jauron said. "Anything that hinders our focus on an opponent, anything that causes us to be distracted from our goal, is not going to be tolerated on our football team.

"We do hold these guys, we like to think, to a higher standard. We do understand that we are visible in the community and that our guys do a lot of very positive community service. So we hold them to a standard, we want to be role models and we like to think we are. This is not the activity we want to condone."

That means the Bears will be forced to shuffle their defensive line this week. The Bears will shift Phillip Daniels from right end to left end and rookie Alex Brown will get the start at right end. Joe Tafoya will also be involved in the rotation.

Chicago's best cornerback, R.W. McQuarters, who is still suffering from the lingering hamstring injury, is listed as questionable this week. His injury could be more damaging to the team than the woes on the defensive line. If McQuarters is healthy, expect him to cover Moss. Jerry Azumah, the team's other starting cornerback, will also face a challenge. He'll be asked to cover Bates or Alexander.

The Bears' defense, which allows 359.3 yards per game, is 23rd in the NFL in run defense (125.7 yards per game). And they aren't much better against the pass, where they rank 22nd in the league (233.7 yards per contest). Their biggest problem this week could be their inability to intercept passes. The Bears have only three picks in six games this year. If they can't force Culpepper to make an errant throw or two, it could be a long day for the Bears' defense.