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MINNEAPOLIS -- As he weighed his future over the summer, Brett Favre heard a number of recruiting pitches from Minnesota players. One came from offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson.

“Basically he said, ‘Hey, come here and hand it off to Adrian [Peterson],” Favre recounted Sunday. “He said, ‘You’ll throw it 15-20 times per game, maybe.’ I thought, ‘That sounds pretty good.’ But I didn’t really believe it.”

So it was with some sarcasm that Hutchinson sidled up to Favre late Sunday afternoon and said, according to Favre: “I told you that you wouldn’t have to do too much.” Hutchinson’s timing was perfect, as Sunday marked the full evolution in Favre’s arrival in Minnesota. In a span of 11 games, Favre has gone from caretaker to carrying the team.

“I’m no fool,” Favre said. “I figured we would have to throw it some. I didn’t come here just to hand off.”

For the first time this season, the Vikings came out throwing and never stopped in a 36-10 victory over Chicago. Facing a Bears defense that stubbornly stacked itself to stop Peterson, Favre threw on 46 of the Vikings’ first 65 plays. He finished with 392 yards, 10 short of his career high.

The Bears quieted Peterson, who gained 85 yards on 25 carries, but the Vikings still gashed them for 537 total yards.

It was the first time in 15 years that Chicago’s once-feared defense had given up 500 yards. I attribute that to inflexible play calling and an injury-depleted lineup. The Vikings’ explosion? It was a true watershed moment.

“We come in with the idea that we want to run the ball,” coach Brad Childress said. “But we’re still not going to put the round peg into a square hole. … You can’t be belligerent. You can’t smash your head against the wall. It’s just how they deployed. It’s just how they elected to take something away, and we have the ability to [capitalize] now in the pass game.”

Said Favre: “I think that’s what this team has talked about doing since Adrian emerged: Being able to counter what he’s able to do.”

Favre had thrown 40-plus passes on two other occasions this season, but in both cases -- against San Francisco and Pittsburgh -- the Vikings were in catch-up mode. Sunday, players and coaches insisted they veered away from an otherwise balanced game plan when the Bears employed most known tactics to stop the run.

“They just had everybody in there in the box,” offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. “They were slamming everything against the formation, slanting their front, putting the safety on the backside coming. They were just doing everything they could to stop the run game. … [But] that’s where we’ve gotten to at this point, where you can flip it over and say, ‘Hey, just start throwing it.’”

I don’t think I can exaggerate how foreign that concept would have been during Childress’ first three years with the Vikings. As they navigated quarterback deficiencies, Childress’ West Coast offense looked more like the run-based attack he once used at the University of Wisconsin (1991-98).

In one particularly dark moment of the 2006 season, television cameras caught several Vikings fans holding mock playcards of Childress’ offense. The title of one play was “Chester Taylor right.” The other was “Chester Taylor right.”

Sunday, however, Childress turned to Bevell and said: “Look, the best way to move the ball right here is for us to throw it and us throw it again.”

I suppose the Vikings might have re-centered if the Bears had adjusted. But Chicago continued running the same scheme -- “For the most part, they played their defense,” Favre said -- and so the Vikings kept throwing.

Favre spread it all over the field, completing at least five passes to five different receivers. According to ESPN’s Stats & Information, that’s been done only twice in the NFL this season. (The other was Seattle against Detroit on Nov. 8.) With the Bears playing their standard cover-2, Vikings receivers simply found the open holes in the zone.

Favre, in fact, completed nine passes between 16 and 33 yards. Those plays added up to the Vikings’ biggest passing day since Daunte Culpepper threw for 404 yards at New Orleans on Dec. 19, 2004.

“We basically took what they gave us,’ said tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who caught his team-leading eighth touchdown of the season. “We saw some holes on their defense, some things we thought we could exploit. This offense is the most explosive I’ve ever seen in my life. The players are playing at a high level. Favre is making terrific throws, great reads. It seems like everyone is getting open, eating up a piece of this pie. We’re just taking advantage of all the mismatches they give us.”

This was the paradigm of the “pick-your-poison” offense the Vikings had hoped to achieve by signing Favre. Many of us, Hutchinson included, assumed opponents would back off their run defense out of respect for Favre’s skills. When and if that happened, we figured Childress and Bevell would revert to their power running approach. Hence, 15-20 throws per game.

But incredibly, the Bears took no special precautions Sunday to defend the NFL’s top-rated quarterback, one who now has a 24-3 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. I can’t say I thought that, at age 40, Favre could respond to that challenge with a 392-yard day. But for one game, at least, the Bears picked the wrong poison.

“I don’t want to say I didn’t think we could do it,” Favre said. “I don’t know if I thought we would have to.”

Agreed.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Chicago is cooked and Minnesota is on fire. That’s what we can safely conclude after the Vikings overpowered the Bears in what once seemed destined to be a key NFC North matchup.

The loss dropped the Bears to 4-7 and to the nether, nether regions of the NFC wild-card race. It’s hard to imagine they were once 3-1. Three first-half turnovers destroyed any chance the Bears had Sunday, and it now seems certain they will miss the playoffs for the third year in a row.

The Vikings, meanwhile, won by double digits for the fourth consecutive game. I found it interesting that they opened the game passing and really never stopped, marking the full evolution of quarterback Brett Favre from being a caretaker to carrying the Vikings offense. I’ll delve into that development in more detail after the game.

For now, the Vikings will eagerly await the result of Monday night’s showdown between New Orleans and New England. A Saints loss would bring them back to a tie with the Vikings for the NFC’s best record. More in a bit.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota just took a 7-0 lead over Chicago thanks to Brett Favre’s 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Percy Harvin. In the process, Favre became the first player in NFL history to total 500 touchdowns. He has 486 passing and 14 rushing in his 19-year career.

The Bears should feel fortunate that this is a one-score game. Their offense couldn’t muster a first down in the first quarter, managing 18 total yards on its first two possessions. The Vikings, meanwhile, have been running up and down the field and have 145 total yards along with 10 first downs.

But Adrian Peterson’s fifth fumble of the year stalled their opening drive, and Danieal Manning’s 44-yard kickoff return has put the Bears offense in good field position for its third drive. Stay tuned.

MINNEAPOLIS -- We’ve slowed to a crawl here at the Metrodome, thanks in large part to Walt Coleman’s flag-happy officiating crew.

By my count, there were six separate penalties called during Minnesota’s most recent possession, including five in a row. One nullified Chester Taylor’s 21-yard touchdown run, and ultimately the Vikings settled for Ryan Longwell’s 37-yard field goal.

The Vikings have a 27-10 lead midway through the third quarter, but we’re not exactly seeing a crisply-played Black and Blue game.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nice wrinkle here from the Chicago offense, which dropped its non-huddle scheme on Minnesota at just the right time.

The Vikings were on their heels from the start, and the Bears moved 64 yards to tie the game. Quarterback Jay Cutler kept his cool throughout, especially as the decibel level rose at the Metrodome. On the touchdown, a 24-yard pass to receiver Johnny Knox, Cutler called one play and then changed it to another when he spied Knox in single coverage against Vikings cornerback Benny Sapp.

If there was any miscommunication caused by crowd noise, I didn’t notice it. The Metrodome is pretty quiet now with the score tied at 7 and 12:12 remaining in the first half.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota just took a 7-0 lead over Chicago thanks to Brett Favre’s 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Percy Harvin. In the process, Favre became the first player in NFL history to total 500 touchdowns. He has 486 passing and 14 rushing in his 19-year career.

The Bears should feel fortunate that this is a one-score game. Their offense couldn’t muster a first down in the first quarter, managing 18 total yards on its first two possessions. The Vikings, meanwhile, have been running up and down the field and have 145 total yards along with 10 first downs.

But Adrian Peterson’s fifth fumble of the year stalled their opening drive, and Danieal Manning’s 44-yard kickoff return has put the Bears offense in good field position for its third drive. Stay tuned.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Chicago defensive tackle Anthony Adams just lined up at fullback for a 3rd-and-1 play here at the Metrodome. It was his first play at fullback, and possibly his last.

Adams, who wears No. 95, failed to report his entrance to the referee as required by NFL rules because he wears a number ineligible for fullback. As a result, the Bears were penalized for illegal substitution. The Vikings declined the penalty because tailback Matt Forte was stopped short of the first down, anyway.

So it goes for the Bears this season.

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a bit of a surprise, Minnesota cornerback Antoine Winfield was deactivated Sunday afternoon and won’t play against Chicago.

Winfield practiced all week and was expected to return after missing four games with a foot sprain. But it will now be at least another week until he gets back on the field. Benny Sapp will start in his place. Meanwhile, the Vikings’ right guard will be Artis Hicks after starter Anthony Herrera (concussion) was deactivated.

For the Bears, the biggest pregame news is that Frank Omiyale has been re-inserted as the Bears’ starting left guard. He’ll replace Josh Beekman. Not sure what the Bears are trying to accomplish there. I think most of us can agree that Omiyale has been a bust as a guard. As expected, tight end Desmond Clark (neck) won’t play.