CHICAGO — Brett Favre cranked up and made one more impossible throw, zinging a touchdown pass in the fading seconds. Too bad for the Minnesota Vikings, that merely put them into overtime.

The Vikings lost again last night, beaten by the Chicago Bears, 36-30, when Jay Cutler tossed a 39-yard strike to Devin Aromashodu. Minnesota fell for the third time in four games, and the defeat gave the New Orleans Saints homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

"I know we're fortunate to be in the playoffs but we have to play better than we did the last few weeks or we'll be home fairly quickly," Favre said. "I'm just being honest as I can be."

Playing for the first time since the dustup between the star quarterback and coach Brad Childress became public, the Vikings' late rally wasn't enough.

After Favre's stunning, fourth-down 6-yard pass to Sidney Rice with 16 seconds left in regulation, Cutler threw the game-winner with just over 9 minutes left in overtime to prevent the Vikings (11-4) from locking up a first-round playoff bye.

Nick Roach recovered a fumble by Adrian Peterson following a catch, setting up Cutler's fourth touchdown pass of the game.

Favre's pass to a leaping Rice capped a 68-yard touchdown drive and tied the score at 30.

Chicago's Robbie Gould, who kicked three field goals in the first half, had a chance to win it on the first possession of the overtime but missed a 45-yard attempt wide right.

The Bears (6-9) took advantage a few minutes later, though, when Hunter Hillenmeyer knocked the ball away from Peterson and Roach recovered. Cutler found an open Aromashodu, who had beaten Antoine Winfield, and the Bears won for just the third time in 11 games.

"It's good for the team, it's good for the morale of going out there and putting up points and answering the bell, especially in the fourth quarter and overtime when you have to do it," Cutler said.

Favre has never led a team to a win after trailing by 17 or more points, falling to 0-43 in such situations. The Bears were up 23-6 in the third quarter and the Vikings were able to tie it twice.

Minnesota can lock up a first-round bye with a win next week and loss or tie by Philadelphia, or with a tie and an Eagles loss. But after running away with the NFC North, the Vikings didn't expect to be in this situation.

They started 10-1 behind a resurgent Favre, but have tailed off since. Favre had a good game after three mediocre performances, completing 26 of 40 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Peterson ran for 94 yards and two scores, but the Vikings simply couldn't pull this one out.

Cutler was 20 of 35 for 273 yards, although he did throw his league-leading 26th interception.

"It's fun," Cutler said of outdueling Favre. "He got me in Denver. I got him when he was in New York."

MINNESOTA 0 0 13 17 0—30

CHICAGO 3 13 7 7 6—36

FIRST QUARTER

Chi—FG Gould 22, 7:24.

SECOND QUARTER

Chi—FG Gould 42, 13:23.

Chi—Olsen 7 pass from Cutler (Gould kick), 5:56.

Chi—FG Gould 41, :00.

THIRD QUARTER

Min—Peterson 1 run (kick blocked), 8:17.

Chi—Clark 2 pass from Cutler (Gould kick), 6:30.

Min—Shiancoe 6 pass from Favre (Longwell kick), 1:18.

FOURTH QUARTER

Min—FG Longwell 41, 12:10.

Min—Peterson 1 run (Longwell kick), 5:49.

Chi—Bennett 20 pass from Cutler (Gould kick), 4:55.

Min—Rice 6 pass from Favre (Longwell kick), :16.

OVERTIME

Chi—Aromashodu 39 pass from Cutler, 9:15.

A—62,479.

          Min Chi

First downs 26 19

Total Net Yards 423 363

Rushes-yards 33-123 28-105

Passing 300 258

Punt Returns 2-3 3-6

Kickoff Returns 6-139 7-214

Interceptions Ret. 1-(-2) 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 26-40-0 20-35-1

Sacked-Yards Lost 3-21 2-15

Punts 6-35.5 5-45.6

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0

Penalties-Yards 4-47 3-31

Time of Possession 36:25 29:20

RUSHING—Minnesota, Peterson 24-94, Taylor 8-29, Harvin 1-0. Chicago, Forte 21-74, Bell 4-21, Cutler 3-10.

PASSING—Minnesota, Favre 26-40-0-321. Chicago, Cutler 20-35-1-273.

RECEIVING—Minnesota, Rice 6-56, Harvin 4-40, Shiancoe 4-40, Berrian 3-58, Peterson 3-43, Taylor 2-26, Kleinsasser 2-22, Lewis 1-27, Dugan 1-9. Chicago, Aromashodu 7-150, Clark 5-39, Olsen 3-47, Bennett 3-35, R.Davis 1-9, Forte 1-(minus 7).

MISSED FIELD GOALS—Chicago, Gould 45 (WR).