CHICAGO – One week after rallying from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat the Packers, the Bears nearly pulled off an even more miraculous comeback Sunday against the Vikings.

Trailing 31-17 late, Brian Griese tossed TD passes of 33 yards to Muhsin Muhammad with 2:36 remaining and 81 yards to Devin Hester with 1:38 to play, forging a tie. But Ryan Longwell’s 55-yard field goal with no time left on the clock gave Minnesota a stunning 34-31 victory.

Brendon Ayanbadejo wrapped up Adrian Peterson on this kickoff return, but the rookie running back set a Vikings record by rushing for 224 yards Sunday.

Sunday’s NFC North clash featured a battle between two of the NFL’s most electrifying young stars. Hester scored the game’s first and last touchdowns by returning a punt 89 yards and later blowing past safety Dwight Smith.

But Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson one-upped Hester, shredding the Bears run defense for 224 yards on 20 carries including TD runs of 73, 67 and 35 yards. The first-round pick also set up Longwell’s winning field goal with a 53-yard kickoff return to the Chicago 38.

“Normally when you play football like that, you lose the game,” said coach Lovie Smith, whose team lost the turnover battle 4-0. “We have to stop the run to be able to win. We haven’t played defense like that in a long time.”

Peterson’s 224 yards were the most ever by a Bears opponent in the franchise’s 87-year history, topping the 216 yards that Ricky Williams gained on Dec. 9, 2002 in Miami.

Asked to identify the problem with a Chicago run defense that repeatedly missed tackles and failed to shed blocks, a disappointed Smith said: “You name it.”

Veteran defensive end Alex Brown was so disgusted with the performance that he encouraged reporters in the locker room after the game to blame the Bears defense for Sunday’s defeat.

“You talk all the time how bad the offense played when they play bad,” Brown said. “Talk about the defense. Talk about how bad we played today. Do that. [When] the offense gives us 31 points, we should win. The special teams played great. The offense played great. We stunk. We played horrible. 

"Besides being a rookie, [Peterson] is a good player. But we shouldn’t give up that many yards rushing. That was nuts. We couldn’t tackle. He cut back and he was gone. The kid’s fast. Once he broke in the open field, it was over.

“We’ve got to tackle better. We lost this game. I know all the coaches and everybody is going to say that we win as a team and we lose as a team, but we lost the game. As a defense, we lost. We stunk it up today.”

The loss dropped the Bears (2-4) into last place in the NFC North, three games behind the first-place Packers (5-1), who rallied to beat the Redskins 17-14 in Green Bay. The idle Lions remain 3-2, while the Vikings improved to 2-3 with their first road win over the Bears in seven tries dating back to 2000.

“If there’s a panic button anywhere around, we all need to race to it,” Brown said. “We need to start winning right now. If we don’t, it’s going to be over.”

The Bears failed to generate a takeaway for the first time since the 2005 regular-season finale in Minnesota, a streak of 21 games.

Devin Hester celebrates after his 89-yard punt return TD gave the Bears a 7-0 lead in Sunday's 34-31 loss to the Vikings.

The eight TDs in Sunday’s game came on plays of 89, 81, 73, 67, 60, 39, 35 and 33 yards.

Griese completed 26 of 45 passes for 381 yards—the second most in his 10-year NFL career— with 3 TDs, 2 interceptions and an 89.2 passer rating. He also lost a fumble on a fourth-and-one quarterback sneak. Cedric Benson rushed for 67 yards on 18 carries and had two receptions for 18 yards, though he dropped three other passes.

Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson connected on just 9 of 23 passes for 136 yards with 1 TD. But with Chester Taylor complementing Peterson by rushing for 83 yards on 22 carries, Minnesota’s ground game produced 311 yards, the third most the Bears have ever surrendered.

Hester gave the Bears a 7-0 lead in electrifying fashion late in the first quarter. Retreating to his own 11, he hauled in Chris Kluwe’s 54-yard punt over his shoulder near the left sideline.

After stutter-stepping, Hester dashed across the field, picked up a block from Brendon Ayanbadejo, broke two tackles and dashed the rest of the way untouched while escorted by a convoy of blockers.

But the Vikings struck back immediately as Jackson rainbowed a 60-yard TD pass to Troy Williamson, who beat safety Adam Archuleta. 

After Griese’s 39-yard TD pass to a wide open Bernard Berrian gave the Bears a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, the Vikings scored 17 unanswered points to go ahead 24-14.

Peterson’s 67-yard TD run late in the second quarter pulled Minnesota into a 14-14 halftime tie and his 73-yard scoring dash gave the Vikings their first lead at 21-14 late in the third quarter. After Robbie Gould and Longwell traded field goals, Peterson’s 35-yard TD run gave the Vikings a 31-17 lead with 4:10 left in the game.

Things looked bleak when Griese was intercepted on the next play from scrimmage. But the veteran quarterback drew the Bears to within a touchdown when he connected with Muhammad on a crossing route for a 33-yard TD with 2:36 remaining.

The Vikings recovered the Bears’ subsequent onside kick, but Chicago’s defense stiffened and Minnesota was forced to punt without picking up a first down on three running plays. 

Two plays later, Griese hit Hester in stride streaking down the right sideline with an 81-yard bomb to tie the game with 1:38 remaining, much to the delight of the Soldier Field crowd.

But Peterson returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the Chicago 38, setting up Longwell’s career-long 55-yard field goal. The kick came one play after Lance Briggs had dropped Peterson for a four-yard loss on third-and-five.

After Peterson’s 35-yard TD run, he was held to minus-seven yards on four carries on Minnesota’s final three possessions. But for the beleaguered Bears, it was too little and too late.  

"Their offense just outplayed our defense," said cornerback Charles Tillman. "We didn't make any plays. We started making plays at the end, but the hole was already too deep. We couldn't get out."