Monday night matchup features complete opposites

The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings each started the season with new quarterbacks and renewed Super Bowl hopes.

The similarities end there.

The NFC North rivals meet in Chicago tonight, with the Vikings headed for the postseason and the Bears heading back to the drawing board.

Jay Cutler leads the NFL with 25 interceptions and his Bears have lost six of seven. Brett Favre has only seven interceptions -- easily on pace for his career low as a starter -- and the Vikings clinched their division a week ago.

But that’s not to say all is rosy in Minnesota. Far from it.

The Vikings have lost two of three, and Coach Brad Childress even tried (unsuccessfully) to bench Favre in the third quarter of the team’s loss to Carolina on Dec. 20. The two got into what the quarterback called a “heated discussion” on the sideline, although they now say they’ve ironed out their differences.

“I think it’s all resolved,” Favre said last week. “I think the team as well as the coaching staff knows where I stand and what I stand for, as I do them. . . . We’re trying to do this thing together.”

If so, the Vikings need Adrian Peterson to return to form. He hasn’t rushed for 100 yards since Week 10, and since has averaged only 3.1 yards per carry.

Peterson rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown last month in the Vikings’ 36-10 victory over the Bears in Minnesota. In that game, Favre set a team record by connecting with five receivers at least five times each.

The Bears gave up four passing touchdowns in a 31-7 loss at Baltimore on Dec. 20, further reducing the chances of Lovie Smith’s keeping his job as coach. Jerry Angelo, Bears general manager, said the team’s performance in the final two games -- and not the money owed Smith -- will decide whether the club keeps its coach.