Update: Moe Williams has practiced without any problems and Michael Bennett is expected to practice on Friday. He appears to be likely to play on Sunday and I am including him in the projections.

Time to throw the rookie into the mix.

Grossman should be starting this week and the Vikes are not featuring the NFL's best secondary. But even with Bennett on the shelf potentially, Minnesota still has enough to post points in this game while the Bears enter into the matchup not sure what they have. The important factor - it is not Kordell.

Minnesota Notes

The Vikings rise to 8-5 and remain one game ahead of Green Bay in the NFC North.

Quarterbacks:: Last week, Daunte Culpepper threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns and now has multiple touchdowns in 11 of 13 games this season. He also had no turnovers last week, the first time that has happened in four weeks.

In the last meeting with the Bears in week two, Culpepper threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns, adding 17 yards on seven runs. Last year against the Bears, he threw for 234 yards and scored twice in Chicago, and had 216 yards and one score against them in Minnesota. Culpepper does not normally have big days against Chicago due to their better than average cornerbacks.

Running Backs: Michael Bennett ran for 103 yards on 25 carries against the Seahawks and added 12 more on two catches. Moe Williams has moved even farther down the pecking order, gaining only 28 yards on eight carries and adding 29 on three catches. Back when the Bears visited in week two, Moe Williams had 108 yards on 21 carries with one touchdown and Onterrio Smith gained 47 yards on nine runs.

Onterrio Smith was given four carries last week that he turned into 40 yards but the game was already in hand.

Michael Bennett is questionable to play due to his sore ankle and pending later news, I am assuming he is out this week. Updates as warranted. Moe Williams sprained his left knee last week but an MRI did not show any damage and he is expected to play against the Bears.

Receivers: Randy Moss had 133 yards on eight catches and scored two touchdowns in his patented "doesn't this look easy" style. No matter than he was doubled on one score and tripled on the other. When the ball is there, he could have all 11 defenders around him and still come up with the catch.

Moss was also aided by Kelly Campbell who had 60 yards on three catches and a score on yet another Culpepper bomb. When Culpepper gets hot, the red zone is just something the receivers run through on the way to the endzone.

Randy Moss only had 27 yards on four catches against the Bears in their last meeting and last season had 58 yards in Chicago though he scored once.

Jim Kleinsasser has a bicep injury which slowed him down last week but is expected to play on Sunday.

Match against the Defense: Moss never has big games against the Bears since Chicago has decent cornerbacks. They try to hide it and do not like to admit it, but the Chicago secondary is very underrated. But Culpepper has been his best when he is on the road - all three of his 300 yard games came as a visitor.

Culpepper will throw for over 200 yards against the Bears but rarely more than 250 since they are one team that is better at containing Moss. Chicago gave up two passing scores to Favre and Bulger who were the only good quarterbacks to visit (and that includes any CHI has brought to the game). Look for Culpepper and Moss to connect for one score but more than that would be unusual and Moss should fall short of 100 yards as he normally does against the Bears. Culpepper has not historically ran much against the Bears as well.

The Bears will yield decent yardage to good runners and Moe Williams has already had 108 yards against them. With Bennett possibly out, Williams will need to reassume more of the rushing load though Onterrio Smith may be brought in to spell him or give a change of pace look.

Chicago Notes

The Bears fall to 5-8 and now may start a full musical quarterback system.

Quarterbacks:: Kordell Stewart threw for 256 yards and one score last week, easily his most productive game. The problem is that he also threw three interceptions which killed the Bear's chances.

Back in week two, Kordell Stewart only threw for 137 yards and one touchdown against the Vikings, and only gained 25 yards rushing. His only score came on one bomb to Marty Booker which inflated his numbers.

The Bears are now leaning towards giving Rex Grossman a shot this week and I am projecting for the rookie to start.

Running Backs: Chicago only used Anthony Thomas on nine runs last week even though he was said to be completely over his viral pneumonia. He gained 22 yards and Brock Forsey lost four yards on his three carries just to ensure the fans did not harbor fond memories of the previous week.

Thomas only gained 53 yards in his last game against Minnesota, though he only had ten carries. He had no catches in that game. With a rookie quarterback in his first start, Thomas should be relied on even more than usual.

Receivers: Marty Booker had the long touchdown catch and ended with 115 yards but no other receiver really amounted to much. It was Bookers first game over 100 this season and with Grossman under center, it may well be his last for the year.

When these teams last played, Stewart's one touchdown went to David Terrell for his only catch. Dez White had 67 yards on three catches and Desmond Clark turned in four catches for 33 yards.

Match against the Defense: Grossman draws a nice defense to start his career but his effectiveness is a complete guess given that he has not played this season. The only reliable feature of the offense is that Thomas should find some running room and by volume of carries turn in at least a respectable game.

At 5-8, the Bears could be playing to reach .500 and will give lip service to that but the reality is that the season is over and next year already looms larger. Grossman will be interesting to watch and if the Bears defense can keep the game close, Chicago can remain in a balanced offense that favors the rushing.

* Fantasy point rankings calculated using standard Huddle fantasy points