The Bears' offensive, defensive and special-teams players of the week in their 40-14 win over the Vikings:

Offense: QB Jay Cutler

Cutler, who had to get three stitches on his chin after taking a hit from a blitzing CB Antoine Winfield in the first half, looked like a quarterback ready to make some noise in the playoffs for the first time in his career. He threw three touchdown passes, connecting with Johnny Knox, Devin Hester and Rashied Davis for scores in the first three quarters. He hooked up with Knox on a 67-yard bomb and placed the ball nicely so Knox could pick up yards after the catch. It was the longest completion of the night. Cutler completed 14-of-24 passes for 194 yards, and he was picked off once.

Defense: Tie between several players

It was hard to pick one player on a night where four different Bears had one sack, three had an interception, seven had a tackle for loss and four either forced or recovered a fumble. Three veterans — S Chris Harris, DE Julius Peppers and CB Charles Tillman — made the picks, but the Bears' young defensive linemen also stood out. DE Henry Melton deflected the pass that Peppers picked off and he also recovered a fumble, DT Matt Toeaina had a sack and recovered a fumble, and rookie DE Corey Wootton's first career sack knocked QB Brett Favre out of the game in the first quarter.

Special teams: WR-RS Devin Hester

Hester's 64-yard punt return for a TD with 12:06 left in the third quarter set a new NFL record for kick-return touchdowns. He has 14 (10 punts, four kickoffs) for his career after having been tied with the previous record holder, Brian Mitchell. Hester's return put the Bears up 27-7, and he also had a 79-yard kickoff return, which set up the second of PK Robbie Gould's four field goals.