I guess you have to call it a scheduling quirk.  Normally, when teams are in the same division and therefore play each other twice, they’ve gotten in at least one game before week 12.

In fact, in the whole long history of Vikings-Bears, this is the farthest they’ve gone into a season without facing each other.  The previous high came in 1984 aka the Les Steckel year, when the two teams didn’t square off until week 9.  In case you were curious, the Vikings lost that game 16-7.

The Bears would go on to finish 10-6 in 1984, and wind up losing to Joe Montana and the 49ers in the NFC title game.  The Vikings, of course, finished 3-13 in that black hole of a season, arguably the worst in franchise history.

In 2009, the shoe is on the other foot.  The Bears are the ones looking in vain for answers, while the Vikings seem primed for a deep postseason run.

Each team’s season narrative so far has revolved around its quarterback.  The Bears traded for Jay Cutler, hoping he would at last give them the franchise QB they’ve been seeking since Sid Luckman left the stage.  The Vikings, meanwhile, signed future Hall of Famer Brett Favre in hopes he would have one more decent year left in his surgically repaired right arm.

Favre has, it’s safe to say, exceeded expectations.  Cutler, on the other hand, has fallen far short of what the Bears and their fans hoped he would be.

One need only look at the statistics to realize what a disappointing season it’s been so far for Cutler.  He’s thrown a league-high 18 interceptions against 15 touchdowns, and posted a horrific 74.5 passer rating (his completion percentage remains halfway decent at around 61%).  The bad performance only seems worse when compared against that of the man he was traded for, Kyle Orton, who has led Denver to a surprising 7-4 record while besting the allegedly more-gifted Cutler in nearly every statistical category.

But the stats aren’t even the biggest gripe when it comes to Cutler.  For many, it’s his apparent bad attitude, more than the interceptions, that has made the whole experience turn sour.

It would be easy to get smug here, and point out that everyone knew about Cutler’s character issues before the trade.  But I doubt even the sternest Cutler naysayers saw things becoming as dire as they have.

Of course, when a team tanks as bad as the Bears have in 2009, it is never just one guy’s fault.  Disaster of this magnitude is the result of multiple failures, a sort of domino effect of suck.

The truth is that, in many ways, Cutler is a victim more than a perpetrator.  A victim of a vanishing running game, for starters.  And a lack of quality receiving targets.  And a defense that has disintegrated in rather spectacular fashion.

The meltdown, in other words, has been a total team effort.

Now, at 4-6, the Bears’ playoff hopes are looking about as healthy as Tiger Woods‘ marriage.  If they want to turn this miserable season around and make a late push, they will have to start with a win this afternoon at the Metrodome.

Such a win, given everything that has transpired this season for both teams, would be a bit of a shocker.  Or would it?

There are, actually, numerous points one could cite in making the argument that a Bears win over the Vikings would not constitute a stunning upset.  You can start with the quarterback.  Yes Cutler has been bad, but the Vikings, as we know, have given up some pretty big passing numbers, to guys like Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco, who are arguably not as talented as Cutler, and, in Flacco’s case, are scarcely more blessed in the receivers category.

It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Cutler could get his stuff together this afternoon and have some kind of insane game.  The Vikings’ secondary is suspect enough for us to at least be a little concerned in this regard, even with Antoine Winfield coming back off injury.

And then, of course, there’s the old division rivalry argument.  “These kind of games are always closer than you think they’re going to be, and when a game is close, it only takes one break.”

That didn’t help the Packers or Lions this year against the Vikings, but still, it has some validity.

Third and perhaps most important in our rundown of reasons we maybe shouldn’t be shocked if the Bears knock off the Vikings is simply this:  The Bears are a desperate team, while the Vikings, at 9-1, are perhaps edging into an area where complacency and over-confidence become an issue.

This game is, to put it simply, a gut-check for the Bears.  If they have any character at all as a team, they need to show it today and at least be in it till the end.  If Jay Cutler possesses even a glimmer of leadership ability, he needs to muster it, and rally the offense to a better showing than it has made all year.

Of course there’s always the possibility that the Bears will give it a great effort and still fall woefully short.  The Vikings may simply be too overwhelmingly good for any but an elite team to have a chance against them.

On paper, it stacks up as a  great match-up for the Vikes.  Their offense is humming like a machine, while the Bears defense looks like it’s crumbling before our eyes.  The Bears offense, meanwhile, appears to have lost its identity, which bodes well for a Vikings defense that, despite not living up to the hype, has risen to the challenge enough for the team to win 9 out of its first 10.

It all boils down to consistency.  We know what we’re going to get from the Vikings, because they’ve done it all year, with only a few hiccups along the way.   With the Bears, however, we have no such certainty.  They could pull themselves together and make a game of it, or they could lay down and let the Vikings walk all over them.

I’ll be rooting for the latter, while remaining wary of the former.

There’s one particular member of the Vikings family for whom this game has even greater meaning – Brad Childress.  He’s in his third season, and there have been whispers – okay, shouts – that this could be his last.  If he wants to save his job, he needs to get to the playoffs this year.  And if he wants to put together any kind of a decent legacy as a Vikings coach (i.e. not spend the rest of his life being compared to Les Steckel) he needs to beat the Packers at least once.  Perhaps Brad doesn’t appreciate the kind of agony Purple fans feel when the Packers get the best of them – and there’s been nothing but agony since Childress took over.  Five straight losses.  Six would be just about unforgivable.  Thankfully, Childress’s much-maligned offense has finally begun showing signs of somewhat kicking ass.  They hung 41 on the Bears, then looked darn good against Houston.  Green Bay’s defense is pedestrian, at least statistically – they’re 20th overall, 5th against the pass but 28th against the run.  Fire up Adrian Peterson.  But don’t forget to protect Gus Frerotte.  Aaron Kampman is known for terrorizing the Vikings, and will likely be extra motivated for this game given that he’s been held sackless the last two.

Speaking of big-time pass-rushers…the Vikings’ Jared Allen is having a sensational year after the big trade and signing, but that season is in danger of being derailed after Allen sprained his shoulder against Houston.  There’s been no official announcement, but it’s likely that Jared will not play today.  This should make life slightly easier for Aaron Rodgers who is having a Pro Bowl-type season.  The Packers were already probably inclined to come out flinging it, given their lack of a reliable running game, but if Jared’s on the bench, they will almost certainly try to air it out.  This will put added pressure on a Vikings pass defense that was left somewhat in tatters by the less-than-fearsome Matt Schaub/Sage Rosenfels combo last weekend (yes I realize their gameplan was to clamp down on Andre Johnson and let every other receiver on the Texans run wide open underneath).  And while we’re on the subject of pass defense…it would be really nice to see Darren Sharper finally make a play.  Actually, it might be even nicer to see a preview of next year’s safety duo, Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams.  Sharper may be savvy, but that doesn’t count for much when you run like Tony Siragusa after an afternoon at Old Country Buffet.  Sorry, but I think Sharper’s done.  I could show some optimism and call for a last-hurrah type game against his old team I suppose – but unfortunately I’ve been watching him play all year.

As for my prediction…I am officially out of the game picking business.  I’m wrong too often.  My only prediction is that I will have had enough of Joe Buck by the middle of the second quarter and will enjoy the remainder of the contest with the sound muted.  Go Vikes.