After Robbie Gould injury, Bears have no kicker vs. Vikings

The sputtering Chicago Bears' margin for error in Minnesota on Sunday suddenly became much tighter when kicker Robbie Gould was injured in pregame warmups.

Gould strained his left calf and won't play today as Chicago tries to get on track after dropping three of its past four contests and falling into a first-place tie with the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.

The Bears have no backup kicker. Punter Adam Podlesh will presumably handle any field-goal and extra-point attempts, though he didn't have a place-kicking background at the University of Maryland or in high school.

The Vikings sprinted to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, and the Bears chose to punt on fourth down after one of their drives stalled at the Minnesota 35-yard line rather than allow Podlesh to try a 53-yard field goal.