The Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears combined for zero points in the third quarter, meaning that we're still looking at a 14-13 Chicago lead as we move to the fourth quarter of play.

However, that doesn't mean the fourth quarter has been without action, as Jared Allen has gone wild in the second half, as he is now up to 3.5 sacks in the game and 22 for the season. Those 22 sacks put him in possession of the Vikings' single-season sack record, breaking the record that had been held by Chris Doleman (who is in attendance today).

His 22 sacks are also the second-highest total in NFL history, and just .5 sacks behind Michael Strahan's single-season record of 22.5* set in 2001.

But, as it stands now, the Vikings are still trailing the Bears by a score of 14-13 as we go into the final quarter of the Minnesota Vikings' 2011 season.

Come on in, folks. . .the party is right here!

The Minnesota Vikings trail the Chicago Bears by a point at the Metrodome in the final game of the 2011 season as we head to the locker room for halftime.

Joe Webb is once again in at quarterback for an injured Christian Ponder, who appeared to aggravate his hip injury on a hit by Israel Idonije early in the second quarter. Webb has led a couple of decent drives, one that resulted in a blocked field goal, and one that resulted in a made field goal.

Jared Allen has 1.5 sacks in this one, giving him 20 for the season. He now trails Chris Doleman by one for the Vikings' single-season team record (Doleman had 21 back in 1986) and Michael Strahan's NFL mark of 22.5* is within reach.

So, as we get ready to begin the final half of football of the 2011 season for the Minnesota Vikings, they trail the Chicago Bears by a score of 14-13.

The Minnesota Vikings have generated two turnovers against the Bears so far, and have turned them into a 10-0 lead.

The first came when Benny Sapp knocked one away from Earl Bennett on a play that needed to be challenged by Leslie Frazier for the right call to come out. The Vikings turned that one into a 26-yard Ryan Longwell field goal, and that gave them a 3-0 lead.

On the Bears' next possession, E.J. Henderson caused running back Khalil Bell to fumble, and Jamarca Sanford jumped on it to give the Vikings the ball at the Chicago 20. Percy Harvin took over from there, carrying the ball twice for 20 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown run to cap the drive.

On the last play of the first quarter, Jared Allen added half a sack to his total for the season, giving him 19, 2 behind Chris Doleman's team record and 3.5 behind Michael Strahan's NFL record.

Three quarters left in the Vikings' season, folks. Here we go!

CHICAGO BEARS (7-8)	GAME #16	MINNESOTA VIKINGS (3-12)
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Earlier this week, the folks at Pro Football Talk drew the conclusion that there were only three meaningless games on this final weekend of the 2011 NFL season. . .and, by God, this is one of them! But, regardless of the "meaning" this game has, we're going to be here for it. . .after all, there's a (seemingly increasingly good) chance that this could be the last game in the history of the Minnesota Vikings, what with all the stadium garbage that's going on. Believe me, we'll have plenty of time to get into that in the coming weeks.

So, what do the Vikings have to do to avoid tying the worst mark in franchise history since the 16-game schedule came into play?

1) Protect Christian Ponder, Joe Webb, or whoever else winds up at quarterback - Only three teams in the NFL have allowed more sacks this season than the Vikings have, with their quarterbacks going down 47 times in the first 15 games of this season. If the Vikings want to have a shot at winning this one, they need to keep their quarterbacks upright, particularly Ponder as he's coming off of a concussion. Again.

2) Get to Josh McCown - The Vikings still owe that guy for the 2003 season finale in Arizona. With Jared Allen currently leading the National Football League in sacks and going against a suspect Bears' offensive line, the Vikings need to keep the pressure up on the Bears' third different quarterback of 2011.

3) Play hard - This team needs to put forth 100% effort in this one for a few reasons. The first is to avoid tying the 1984 Vikings for the worst record in team history. The second one is to send the great Jim Kleinsasser off with a victory. The third is that, quite frankly, there are a lot of players wearing purple today that could very well be playing for their jobs. There is going to be some serious turnover in Minnesota this off-season, and if guys don't want to be a part of that, they need to show it this afternoon.

The Minnesota Vikings have never gone 0-for-the NFC North/Central in a season before, but they run the risk of doing so this afternoon if they lose to the Bears. Yes, I know that if the Vikings lose they're guaranteed the third overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, and if they win they'll likely drop to the sixth spot. Big deal. I'm tired of watching this team lose. . .you have just as good a chance of drafting a star at #6 as you do at #3, and you have just as much chance of drafting a bust at #3 as you do at #6.

Let's send big #40 out with a victory this afternoon, and try to put this whole miserable season behind us.

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!

There is just too damn much action going on at FedEx Field right now, and we're doing everything we can to keep up with it.

We've got two touchdowns from Joe Webb (one rushing, one passing), a touchdown catch for Kyle Rudolph, Adrian Peterson and Christian Ponder both leaving the game with injuries. . .and, in Peterson's case, likely leaving for a much, much longer time period. . .Jabar Gaffney making one-handed touchdown catches, Rex Grossman ripping up our secondary, and the Vikings holding a 23-20 lead with 15 minutes of football remaining.

Not necessarily in that order, except for that "15 minutes remaining" thing, because that's where we are right now.

I'm exhausted just watching all of this, so here's your fourth quarter thread, ladies and gentlemen. Once we have more word on all the injuries and all that other good stuff, we'll bring it to you post-haste. Thanks for hanging out with us this afternoon, folks!

It's been pretty and ugly, in alternating doses, but the Vikings and Redskins are tied at ten as we get ready for the second half at FedEx Field.

Jared Allen got a sack in the second quarter, giving him 18.5 for the year. He is now 2.5 behind Chris Doleman's single-season record for the Vikings, and 4 behind Michael Strahan's single-season NFL record.

Adrian Peterson had 35 yards and a score in the first half, meaning he's 71 yards behind Robert Smith in his chase to become the Minnesota Vikings' all-time rushing yardage leader. He was 106 behind Smith going into this game.

And that's where we stand in this one, folks. This team has now played 38 consecutive quarters of football without an interception, although we are +1 in the takeaway/giveaway ratio today, thanks to Brian Robison's strip sack of Rex Grossman early on.

It's time for the second half, folks. Enjoy!

The Vikings have an early lead over the Washington Redskins, thanks to a Brian Robison strip sack of Rex Grossman early that turned into a 37-yard field goal from Ryan Longwell.

The Vikings' defense has held up very well thus far, and the Redskins have helped us out with an offsides penalty on a 4th-and-4 play that allowed the Vikings to hold on to the football. That was followed up with what can only be classed as an absolute cheap shot on a sliding Christian Ponder by Washington safety Reed Doughty, who will be getting a letter from the league office this week and probably should have been ejected.

The Vikings are currently looking at a 2nd-and-goal from the Redskins' 1-yard line as we start the second quarter of play with Minnesota leading 3-0 in front of. . .well, dozens of fans at FedEx Field. Seriously, there are more people in the Game Thread than there are in the stadium.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-12)	GAME #15	WASHINGTON REDSKINS (5-9)
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Happy Christmas Eve morning, ladies and gentlemen! If you're fortunate enough to be watching this one with us and not running around a mall or shopping center somewhere like a chicken that has recently had its head severed from its body, we welcome you to the second-to-last Game Thread of the 2011 NFL season, in which the Vikings will attempt to take a step towards not finishing with the worst record in the history of the franchise. As you can see, I don't think it's going to happen, but if it were to happen, how would the Vikings go about doing it?

1) Let's get physical. . .physical - The Redskins' run defense really hasn't been all that good this season, allowing 112 yards per game. After getting just ten carries in last week's loss, you have to believe that Adrian Peterson is going to be chomping at the bit to get some work in this afternoon's game. Toby Gerhart has proven to be an effective sledgehammer in Peterson's place over the past few weeks, and as long as we don't have any gutless dirtbags yanking people's ankles at the bottom of pile-ups, that tandem should get plenty of work this afternoon. Peterson is 106 yards away from setting the Vikings' franchise rushing record and, as great as it would be for him to get it at home, I'd rather he not have to wait that long.

2) Under pressure - We're playing Rex Grossman today, folks. Rex Grossman doesn't just like to throw interceptions. . .he wants to throw interceptions. With Jared Allen chasing both the Vikings' single-season sack record (currently 21, held by Chris Doleman) and the NFL single-season record (22.5* by Michael Strahan) and Washington without starting left tackle/performance enhancing drug enthusiast Trent Williams, there's a chance that #69 can make Grossman's life miserable. In addition to making some game changing sacks, there's a possibility. . .and I hope you're sitting down. . .that the pressure from the Vikings' front four could cause Grossman to throw passes that can potentially be caught by the opposing team. We haven't seen that since before Columbus Day in Minnesota, but if it's going to change, this is as good a chance as any.

3) Give a little bit of heart and soul - There's no doubt that the Vikings have heard all the "Suck for Luck" or "Fall Flat for Matt" talk, particularly with the Colts having won on Thursday night. When it comes down to it, everybody that takes the field in a white jersey with purple and gold on it is a professional. Yeah, there's going to be no post-season this year, and yeah, there's not a hell of a lot to play for. But if these guys like Leslie Frazier as much as it's being reported they do, then they need to go out there and play their asses off regardless of what's on the line or what's going on. There are a lot of guys on this roster that could potentially be playing for a job come 2011, and they need to go out there and play like it.

Kickoff is in about an hour and a half, ladies and gentlemen. The inactive lists should be out just about any moment now.

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!