Week eight saw the second Monday night matchup of 2016 for the Bears as they hosted the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings. In the rivalry, the Vikings led the series 57-51-2. In 12 games played on Mondays, the two teams were split with six wins apiece. A week before the game, John Fox officially cleared Jay Cutler to return to practice and make his first start since week two. With Cutler back, Jeff Joniak emphasized the offense helping him to adapt to game conditions once again, especially against a Vikings defense that had allowed just 14 points per game and a league-low 279.5 yards per game while recording a league-best 16 turnovers and a +11 turnover ratio. Cutler also had to watch for the front seven, as the Vikings had four players with at least three sacks, while the defensive line had 17 combined sacks, five forced fumbles, 17 tackles for loss, an interception and a safety. On defense, the Bears had to pressure quarterback Sam Bradford, who completed only five passes in week seven against the Eagles while being blitzed on 15 occasions. Additionally, Minnesota's rushing game lacked its top two running backs and had 29 runs of negative yards, the most in the NFL. As the bye week approached, Joniak stated, "Playing with pride and with heart is as much a part of this matchup as anything." After the Vikings punted on their opening drive, the Bears scored on Connor Barth's 30-yard field goal; the drive had been set up by Jordan Howard's 69-yard run. Howard also provided a 34-yard catch six drives later, which helped lead to Barth kicking a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter. On Chicago's next possession, Howard scored on a two-yard touchdown run. Minnesota came close to scoring a touchdown on the following series, including reaching as far as Chicago's two-yard line, but Bradford was sacked by Akiem Hicks on third down; the Vikings were forced to settle for Blair Walsh's 30-yard field goal. The Bears scored on the first drive of the second half when Cutler threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery to give the Bears a 20-3 lead. Neither team scored on each of their next two drives. With 5:41 left in the game, Bradford threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs to cut the margin to ten points, but the Bears offense consumed much of the time remaining. When the Bears finally punted, there was only four seconds left and Bradford ended the game with a 25-yard pass to Cordarrelle Patterson. In his return, Cutler completed 20 of 31 passes for 252 yards, a touchdown and a 100.5 passer rating, while the offense recorded 403 yards with no turnovers. Howard, who recorded 153 rushing yards, 49 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown, was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. On defense, the Bears sacked Bradford five times, forced the Vikings offense to go three-and-out on three straight drives and convert just two of their thirteen third-down situations.. Which player scored more field goals, Connor Barth or Blair Walsh?