I caught much of the first half of this game live for once - I'm only four hours behind east coast time this week -  and the rest on the condensed version this morning. It was a big game for Survivor pools as the Vikings were the most used team and a good fade on the road against a division rival. 

(An outdoor restaurant next to a playground. Above, view of the Sao Bento Palace, now the Portuguese Parliament building.)

• Jordan Howard re-established himself as the clear No. 1 back in Chicago, running roughshod over a stout Vikings defense. The danger in counting on rookie backs without elite pedigrees is how easily they can lose carries, but this showing - after his successes earlier in the year - should lock him in.

• Jay Cutler was sharp in his first game back against a good Minnesota pass defense and could have had a bigger day had Alshon Jeffery turned his head on a deep ball that hit him in the helmet.

• While Zach Miller saw the most targets, Jeffery was involved and caught a TD despite being matched up against corner Xavier Rhodes. With Cutler back, Jeffery is again a top-10-ish WR.

• The Vikings offense is in trouble. Sam Bradford is a reasonably accurate QB that can go through his progressions, but he needs time to throw, and he's not going to create anything himself. Moreover, he needs a running game to set him up in better down-and-distance.

• Stephon Diggs saw 13 targets and caught a TD, but he wasn't efficient (only 76 yards.)