CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Rex Grossman was impressive and did not throw an interception, but fellow rookie Charles Tillman stole the show with the interception he made.
Tillman's acrobatic play saved the Bears late in the fourth quarter and sealed their 13-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
With 1:02 left, Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw a near-perfect pass to Randy Moss in the end zone, but Tillman jumped with Moss and ripped the ball out of the Pro Bowl receiver's hands to prevent Minnesota from scoring the go-ahead touchdown.
"For a young kid to go up and take the ball away from Randy Moss with the game on the line, it was huge," Bears defensive coordinator Greg Blache said. "It speaks a lot to his athletic ability but also his confidence."
"I knew he was going to run (that play)," Tillman said. "I waited patiently. Culpepper threw it like I anticipated. At first Randy got one hand on the ball, I got mine on it and snatched it away."
The Vikings (8-6) have lost six of their last eight games to let their grip on the NFC North all but slip away. The Green Bay Packers, who play later Sunday, have a chance to tie Minnesota for the division lead.
Grossman completed only 13-of-30 passes for 157 yards, but kept the offense running smoothly for Chicago (6-8). In his NFL debut, the first-round pick out of Florida guided the Bears to a turnover-free game.
"We thought we could pick him," Vikings coach Mike Tice said. "He made a lot of plays and played a good game. We put him in situations where he was going to fail and he did a nice job of handling that."
Still, Grossman was not completely satisfied with his performance in his debut.
"(I was) a little hesitant maybe," Grossman said. "Wasn't as accurate as I should have been."
Anthony Thomas scored the only touchdown for the Bears, who have won three of their last four games.
Rookie Onterrio Smith stepped in for an injured Michael Bennett and produced a season-high 148 yards on 27 carries for the Vikings.
"He played well," Tice said. "He hung in there and hit the holes hard and ran well. It shows that he can play in this league."
