"I wouldn't wish that (suspension) on anybody," Metcalf said. "People may think it's about the money. It's not about the money; it's the time you spend away from football that kills you. You're spending time away from football, and money and you have to explain, 'OK, well I didn't take steroids, I did this, (and) it wasn't like that.' I think that's the biggest issue. I wish those guys the best of luck, and hopefully they come out of this where they don't have to be suspended or whatever. The toughest thing is just being away from the guys and being away from the facility."

The Williamses (who aren't related) on Wednesday received a temporary restraining order to block their suspensions, but that decision could be overturned on appeal. The Williamses are the biggest reasons the Vikings are the NFL's second-best defense against the run, and the Bears' chances of sneaking into the playoffs would be improved with them out of the picture, but players weren't focusing much on that possibility.

"We're not worried about that," tight end Greg Olsen said. "They'll be fine. A lot of teams lose key players. But you've got to do the best you can to fill in, and you can't let that be an excuse why you lose. Obviously those two players are key to their defense and what they do. They've just got to say, 'These are the cards we got dealt, and we're just going to go ahead with it.' "

Besides, the Bears already had to play against "The Williams Wall" twice this season.

"It came a little too late, huh?" said offensive tackle John St. Clair.

--Count Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio among the many fans of Bears rookie running back Matt Forte, who has already rushed for 1,012 yards and caught 48 passes for another 358 yards.

"I don't want to get carried away," Del Rio said, "but I see some Marcus Allen-type vision and balance with him. He's a taller guy, (and) he runs with good pad level. He's got good vision and balance, and I think he does a nice job following his blocks and setting up his blocks. I've got a lot of family and friends that live in Louisiana, so I'm aware of some of the things he did at Tulane. A lot of them were telling me how good he was going to be coming out; of course we weren't in the market for a back. But I thought he was a good back coming out, and they've got a good player there."

--If the Vikings beat the Lions this weekend they would hold all tie-breakers over the Bears, which means the Bears would have to wind up with a better overall record than Minnesota to win the division. The Bears would have to win at least three of their remaining four contests in this scenario and have the Vikings lose their final three games. That would leave the Bears at 9-7 and the Vikings at 8-8.

If the Vikings win two of their remaining four contests with one being a victory at Detroit, the Bears have to win all four of their remaining contests. That would leave the Bears at 10-6 and the Vikings at 9-7. The Vikings win the division if they win at least three of their remaining four contests, including a win at Detroit, even if the Bears win all four games due to tie-breaker No. 4 (conference record).

If the Vikings lose to Detroit, the Bears can hold the tie-breaker by defeating the Packers on Dec. 22, giving them a better division record than the Vikings (tie-breaker No. 2). If the Vikings lose to the Lions and the Bears lose to Packers, the Bears will have to finish with a better overall record than the Vikings and Packers in order to win the division due to both foes holding tie-breaker edges over them.

If the Vikings beat the Lions and the Bears lose to the Packers, Chicago would have to win all three other games and have the Vikings lose their remaining three and Green Bay lose at least once.

BY THE NUMBERS: 114.5 - Bears QB Kyle Orton's first-quarter passer rating, the highest in the NFL.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Obviously in this kind of weather (cold and snowy), being able to run the football is critical. But you still have to score points, and to do that you have to make plays in the passing game." --Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner, whose unit has not had more than 166 passing yards in any of the past five games and has three straight home games.