CHICAGO — The last time the Chicago Bears scored this many points, Walter Payton was taking handoffs and Mike Ditka was prowling the sideline.
Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes, special teams chipped in with two more and the Bears hung on for a 48-41 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Chicago intercepted Gus Frerotte four times even though its injury-riddled secondary was missing starting cornerbacks Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman along with nickel back Danieal Manning.
The Bears managed to put up their most points since beating Tampa Bay 48-14 at home on Dec. 7, 1986. It was the most points Chicago has allowed in a win, and the total of 89 tied a record set in a 51-38 loss at Baltimore in October 1958.
“We’ve got a group of guys who are together,” Orton said. “It’s everybody inside the huddle working for a common goal, and we work together very well.”
The Bears survived a late push by Minnesota after building a 17-point lead and won even though Adrian Peterson ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a 54-yarder.
“It feels like we keep killing ourselves,” Peterson said. “We put up (439) yards on a pretty good defense.”
Orton completed 21-of-32 passes for 283 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown pass to Marty Booker that made it 41-31 with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
Minnesota got a 23-yard field goal from Ryan Longwell, and former Bear Bernard Berrian capped a 75-yard drive with a 5-yard TD catch that made it a seven-point game with three minutes left.
But this time, the Bears hung on.
Tommie Harris sacked Frerotte after Minnesota (3-4) took over at the 25 with just over a minute left following a punt, and rookie Zackary Bowman, promoted from the practice squad during the week, sealed it with an interception.
“With their starting corners down and their starting nickel down, we thought we would be able to throw the ball downfield a little bit,” said Frerotte, who was 25-of-40 for 298 yards after winning three of his first four starts. “We had the run and the pass going all day, and we mixed them up pretty well. Just when it came down to the end, we didn’t get it done.”
The Vikings’ special teams were a mess too, and now they’ve allowed five touchdowns.
The first one Sunday came on a strange sequence in the opening quarter, when Chris Kluwe dropped a snap and had his punt blocked.
He then attempted an illegal kick, and Garrett Wolfe returned it 17 yards for a TD. Later, Charles Gordon mishandled a punt by Brad Maynard when he tried to block Bowman. Instead, the ball hit him and Bowman recovered it in the end zone for a TD that gave Chicago a 24-17 lead.
