It was the worst scenario you could think of for the Bears in overtime.

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson running to his right, catching a swing pass from Brett Favre and running in the open field … with linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer chasing him.

But Hillenmeyer is a smart guy – he graduated from Vanderbilt and has worked on his MBA at Northwestern.

Yes, it was Brian Urlacher’s backup who knocked the ball loose from Peterson (who leads NFL backs in fumbles lost with 13) and into the hands of linebacker Nick Roach. That play set up Jay Cutler’s winning touchdown pass to Devin Aromashodu in a 36-30 overtime victory at a frigid Soldier Field.

The Bears (6-9) usually like to ruin Green Bay’s season, but this year, they had to settle for ruining Favre’s. The Vikings have lost three of their last four and are in danger of losing a first-round bye to the Eagles. If nothing else in this lost season, Bears fans can take satisfaction in that.

Here’s this week’s report card – the Bears’ best of the season – with video of Hillenmeyer’s big play from the NFL Network:

OFFENSE

Easily the best game of the season. Cutler had three touchdown passes in regulation and the game winner on a beautiful go-route to Devin Aromashodu, who ran by Antoine Winfield. But Cutler’s  third-quarter interception led to a Ryan Longwell field goal that contributed to Minnesota’s second-half surge. Aromashodu had seven catches for 150 yards, and Cutler spread touchdown passes around, hitting Greg Olsen, Desmond Clark and Earl Bennett in regulation.

And we’re going to give credit to a player we’ve dogged all season: left tackle Chris Williams. Williams did a masterful job on Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen, who had terrorized Cutler in the teams’ earlier in the season with Orlando Pace blocking him. Williams got some help with chip blocks from Matt Forte and Earl Bennett, but several times he fought off Allen man-to-man. There’s hope for him yet. Grade: A-minus

Jay Cutler had his best game of the season, throwing four TD passes vs. only one interception.

DEFENSE

Yes, the defense blew a 16-point halftime lead. But Hillenmeyer, who has filled in for Urlacher since the starting middle linebacker broke his wrist in the opener, kept the Bears in it in the second half. He had a game-high 15 tackles (13 solo), tipped a Favre pass and rushed him on another.

You knew it was only a matter of time until Favre started to pick apart the Bears’ defense. He hit Sidney Rice on fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard-line with 16 seconds left to tie it. Good defenses don’t give up 14-play, 68-yard drives when protecting a lead. But how can you stop with Favre, who entered the game 12-3 lifetime at Soldier Field? The completion followed a good stand by the Bears inside the 10.

The first half brought back memories of the 2005 defense. Tommie Harris was all over the field, pressuring Favre and recovering a fumble on consecutive plays. Where has that been all season? But with starting safeties Al Afalava and Kevin Payne out with injuries, and Peanut Tillman out with a rib injury in a second-half collision with Craig Steltz, the secondary proved to be fair game for Favre in the second half. A 23-6 lead with 6:30 left in the third quarter quickly became a 23-23 game with 6 minutes left.  Grade: B

SPECIAL TEAMS

Robbie Gould pushed a 45-yard field goal attempt wide right in overtime, his only miss in three attempts and the only blemish on Bears special teams. Danieal Manning may be on the outs as far as a safety, but he’s proven invaluable on special teams. His kickoff returns of 53 and 59 yards – the latter setting up the Bears’ go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter – made the difference for the Bears. Israel Idonije blocked a Longwell extra point in the third quarter, and Brad Maynard hit a 53-yard punt with a pulled groin muscle. Not bad. Grade: A-minus

COACHING

Lovie Smith got a lot done with a paper-thin defense racked by injuries. We’ll give offensive coordinator Ron Turner his props for calling the deep pass to Aromashodu in overtime. Grade for Smith: B-plus; Grade for Turner: A-minus

-- MIKE REILLEY
Follow him on Twitter @bearsblogblitz