The Minnesota Vikings managed to continue their stranglehold on the NFC North with a 36-10 throttling of the Chicago Bears Sunday. While the defense had another fine outing, racking up four sacks, two interceptions and a fumble, it was the offense’s day to shine.

Brett Favre had his best day as a Viking, throwing for 392 yards and three touchdowns. He continues to show his prowess for passing at age 40, and is very much in the discussion for most valuable player honors. This was a game where the Bears picked their poison by choosing to slow down Adrian Peterson, limiting him to 85 yards, but were consistently picked apart by the veteran signal caller. It’s a problem only a couple of defenses have been able to solve this year, and one the Bears will no doubt try to attack differently in their rematch on Dec. 28.

A couple of performances that stood out from the offense were from two veterans. Chester Taylor, who has picked up his running game in the past few weeks, offset that with six catches for 51 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He will be counted upon as the regular season winds down and while they try to keep AP healthy for the playoffs. Also of note was Bernard Berrian, who appears to have shaken his leg ailments in the early part of the season with six catches for 74 yards. Berrian, who seems to get up for his two matchups each year against the Bears (who can forget his 99-yard touchdown catch last year?), will be able to stretch defenses out even further with his speed.

One thing that was troubling to me was Peterson’s two fumbles. That’s six on the season, and five of those he’s lost. Teams are specifically looking to strip him of the ball whenever he gets into a pile. In the playoffs against a high-scoring offense like New Orleans, where every possession will be critical, a strip of AP could be the difference in the game. Maybe Peterson needs to call up the now-retired Tiki Barber for advice on holding the ball? You can’t fault him for wanting to plow through a pile of players and gain more yardage. You wouldn’t want to take that element away from him. But he needs to find a better way to protect the ball.

After three weeks of wins over lesser opponents, business picks up Sunday night when the Vikings visit the desert for the second consecutive year in a matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Look for a preview on this week’s game on Friday.