In the showdown contest of the week, at Soldier Field the Chicago Bears pulled out a wild one over the Minnesota Vikings, 48-41. With first place atop the Black and Blue division hanging in the balance, Bears QB Kyle Orton rose to the occasion, posting some pretty good numbers racking up 283 aerial yards for two TDs on 21-of-32 passing. On the other side of the pigskin, the Vikes fabled front four shut down Chicago’s running game, holding rookie ground specialist Matt Forte to a meager 56 yards on 20 carries and one end zone visit. Forte’s opposite number, Adrian Peterson, was a one man wrecking crew grinding out 121 yards on 22 carries for two TDs including a 54-yard scoring tear. Minnesota’s back up QB Gus Frerotte had a career afternoon—in more ways than one—chalking up 298 yards on 25-of-40 passing for two TDs. But one stat alone tells the whole story. Amidst all these offensive fireworks Frerotte also lobbed four interceptions—more than enough to ensure Chicago’s win.

Will the real Indianapolis Colts please stand up and take the gridiron? What started out as a nail biter quickly turned into a laugher. The Colts took an early 7-3 lead into the second quarter. From that point on it was all Green Bay Packers, pounding out 31 unanswered points until late in the fourth stanza when Colts RB Dominic Rhodes registered the last Colts TD with 2:46 left on the game clock. In the battle of the quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers kept pace with Mighty Manning . Peyton logged 229 yards on 21-of-42 passing while Rodgers finished with 186 yards on 21-of-28 passing. The telling difference was in TDs and interceptions. The Pack secondary kept Peyton out of the end zone and picked off two passes. Rodgers capped off another solid game by going interception free with one scoring strike.

The poor Detroit Lions, they try so hard but keep losing. Now 0-6, about the only thing Detroit can look forward to is the number one draft pick. Yesterday’s 28-21 loss to the Houston Texans was a classic example of too little too late. The Texans were mauling the Lions 21-3 at the half with both teams added third quarter TDs. Detroit gave it the old college try with 11 fourth quarter points—enough to make it respectable, but one TD shy of victory. Better luck next week.

Week 8, Green Bay, Minnesota and Chicago have byes. Detroit takes on Washington at home—did someone say 0-7? Week 9 Detroit travels to Chicago, Minnesota plays Houston at home while The Packers travel to Tennessee to play the Titans. Smart money says that by the end of the day, the Bears will have sole possession of first place with a 5-3 record while Green Bay and Minnesota will be deadlocked for second at 4-4. The Pack is good, but not good enough to overtake the Titans at home. The Vikes will be looking to avenge its nail biter to the Bears. Tornado Peterson will shred the Texans defense. The Lions? They’re playing the Bears—0-8.