Peterson had 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns in his most recent game against Chicago, a 48-41 Minnesota loss on Oct. 19. He is averaging 6.8 yards per carry in his career against the Bears and has scored at least two touchdowns in each game.

"He matches up well," Briggs said in a conference call. "The guy poses problems, I think, for any team he faces. Especially for us, you can go ahead and say that. He's definitely had our number in the games that we've had. Leading up to the Vikings game, from a run standpoint, we were extremely stout."

The Bears' run defense was strong Sunday in a 27-3 blowout against St. Louis, which was playing without injured running back Steven Jackson. The Rams had only 14 yards on 19 carries.

It was a good way to bounce back for Chicago after getting gashed by the Green Bay Packers , who rushed for 200 yards in their 37-3 blowout victory two weeks ago over the Bears. Now Chicago has to try to deal with Peterson.

"We're not by ourselves," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "Adrian Peterson's had success against just about everybody he's played. He's the best player in the league. You start with that. Hopefully, we can slow him down a little bit. It's a challenge for our defense, but our guys will show up."

Double trouble: As quarterback Gus Frerotte's numbers have fallen in recent weeks, so have receiver Bernard Berrian's. In the previous three games, Berrian didn't catch a touchdown pass and has only four receptions. That's after a streak of four consecutive games with a score.

Frerotte said teams are playing the Vikings' No. 1 receiver differently, sending more double coverage.

"I think any time he gets single coverage, that safety is cheating his way," Frerotte said. "That means there has to be other guys open. That means there has to be another guy in the box to stop Adrian, and like I said, we have (Visanthe) Shiancoe, Sidney (Rice), Bobby Wade; someone else has to be open. We have to find ways to get those guys the ball."

Frerotte said the tendency to pay more attention to Berrian started recently and that the Vikings have to do a better job of getting him the ball.

"When people make big plays, you want to try to get them the ball," Frerotte said. "Bernard is not a guy that's going to go out there and say he wants the ball 20 times a game. He's a team player. To me it was obvious last week when he said he was going to return punts."

Berrian said he's being covered "a little bit more, but there are still opportunities to get the ball."

Allen opines: Vikings defensive end Jared Allen had interesting comments, as usual, on Wednesday. Asked about Kyle Orton's game management in a blowout of woeful St. Louis on Sunday, Allen said: "Not to be mean, but how do you not manage a game against St. Louis? They're pretty bad. He's doing good, though. He's not losing games for his team, which is crucial."

Allen said he has been working hard with the athletic trainers to get his sprained right shoulder healthier. He said his shoulder is getting a little better each week.

So does Allen need surgery?

"Nah, surgery, that's overrated."

Hicks update: New starting right tackle Artis Hicks did not practice Wednesday because of an elbow injury suffered Sunday at Jacksonville. Coach Brad Childress said Hicks is "in a race to Sunday" to play against Chicago. Childress did not elaborate on the nature of the injury.

The Jacksonville game was Hicks' first career start at right tackle after taking over for demoted Ryan Cook, who will start against Chicago if Hicks can't play. Childress said after reviewing film that Hicks played well.

Briefly: The Vikings' injury report is long once again, but not including Hicks, the most important players on the list are expected to start Sunday. Allen and free safety Madieu Williams are dealing with shoulder injuries,so they were limited in practice. Linebacker Vinny Ciurciu (hand), tight end Garrett Mills (ankle) and linebacker David Herron (shoulder) also were limited in practice.