Dreaded Monday Night Streak Over for Bears : Pro football: After losing eight in a row in showcase game, Chicago beats Minnesota, 14-6.

Bad luck is all the Chicago Bears usually have on Monday night. This time, they finally got the break they needed.

Erik Kramer threw two touchdown passes and Albert Fontenot recovered a fumble at the Chicago 19 with 1:32 remaining as the Bears held on for a 14-6 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Chicago (6-2) ended its NFL-worst eight-game losing streak on Monday nights and took a one-game lead over Green Bay in the NFC Central entering the second half of the season.

“We [purged] a lot of demons,” Kramer said. “Coming down to the wire, I’m sure [the Monday night streak] was on a lot of people’s minds. We almost gave it back.”

The Bears were in position for a potential clinching field goal when rookie Rashaan Salaam fumbled and Broderick Thomas recovered at the Minnesota 13 with 2:17 remaining.

The final drive was delayed when a fan ran onto the field, and it ended when receiver Qadry Ismail was hit by Marty Carter. Fontenot recovered, and the Bears ran out the clock for their fourth consecutive victory.

“I don’t know how good we are yet,” Kramer said. “I’d like to have seen us close this one out and not let them come back. We haven’t done that yet. I can’t make any predictions about the future.”

It left the Vikings (3-5) needing a remarkable turnaround to make Dennis Green only the fourth coach to take his team to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons.

“To play that hard and come up with nothing, it’s frustrating,” quarterback Warren Moon said. “It’s going to be tough. We’re going to have to muster all the character we have in that locker room. Hopefully we don’t have dissension creeping in there, because when a team is 3-5 at the halfway point, that can happen.”

The Bears began the game with a 12-26 record in the 26-year history of “Monday Night Football,” and they hadn’t won in the weekly showcase game since a victory at the Metrodome on Nov. 11, 1991.

Even with running back Robert Smith out because of an injured ankle, Minnesota controlled the clock throughout, riding Moon’s accurate short passing on long drives that kept Kramer and the NFC’s highest-scoring offense on the sidelines much of the night.

Moon completed 28 of 42 passes for 252 yards, and the Vikings had a four-minute edge in possession.

But Chicago sacked Moon four times, and the Vikings, who lost their third in a row, consistently stalled when they got in scoring position and managed only two field goals by Fuad Reveiz.

“We just made too many mistakes,” said Minnesota’s Cris Carter, who had eight catches, including the 500th of his career. “It hurts in a game like this.”

The Bears’ defense has been shaky all season, especially in the second half of last week’s 35-32 victory over Houston.

Kramer completed 18 of 25 passes for 231 yards and was exceptional when he got his chances.

He was five of five for 73 yards on Chicago’s first scoring drive, which ended in his four-yard pass to defensive tackle Jim Flanigan, a backfield substitute in goal-line situations. That gave Chicago a 7-3 lead, and 1:58 later Kramer lofted a stunning 48-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Conway, who got behind Alfred Jackson for his ninth scoring catch of the season.