Vikings QB Christian Ponder said the team has to get back to where it was -- winning.  (US Presswire)

Vikings QB Christian Ponder said he used the bye week to get away from football for a while. He had an iPad full of game film with, but he mostly relaxed. He says his teammates came back with a little extra pep in their step and are ready to get to work preparing for the Bears. Ponder spent some time after practice reflecting on what’s happened to the team recently and what lies ahead.

Did the win against Detroit help your confidence entering the bye?

Ponder: “Yeah, I think so. To have a loss going into the bye week, that would have been tough. I think we needed to get back on track with what we were doing. [The win] definitely helped. It definitely made the bye week more enjoyable. Now we’ve got to make sure that we get back to where we were, and there are still a lot of things that we’ve got to work on. I think the red zone is one obviously, and third down [efficiency] is something we’ve got to work on this week.”

How do you see the tough schedule ahead?

Ponder: “It is an opportunity for us, and we know it’s going to be tough. That’s what you live for. You live for the second half of the season, to be able to control your own destiny and to be able to make a play for the playoffs, and that’s exactly what we have in our hands. We’ve got to be fully focused on what we’re doing and handle it one week at a time. It’s fun in November and December when you still have the playoffs at stake.”

Did the coaches have a message for you all after the bye-week self scout?

Ponder: “They just talked about what we needed to work on, and the big thing is our turnover differential. I think we’re 23rd in the league, and our red zone -- we’re 17th in the league at 53 percent. Obviously, there are two things that we’ve got to work on, especially with our schedule stacked up. There’s things we have to perform at a high level on.”

What clicked in during the Lions game for the offense?

Ponder: “I don’t know. We just put in a lot of time that last week to make things work. I made sure that I just relaxed and slung the ball around, threw the ball with conviction. And I’ve just got to keep that going. We had a lot of guys step up and I think we now know how we can perform. We’ve just got to make sure that we do it this week.”

Did the win in Detroit show what your offense can do without Percy Harvin?

Ponder: “We really want Percy back -- hopefully, he will be back. He’s a big part of this offense. But I think it gives confidence to everyone else that we can do some things without him and we can spread the ball around a little bit. We had some guys step up when they needed to, and we know Jarius [Wright] can fill in in that role, as well. But we’re hoping that Percy will be healthy enough to play.”

What have you seen of the Bears prolific defense?

Ponder: “They’re very opportunistic, obviously a lot of turnovers. We saw what they did against Dallas and other teams. They’re creating a lot of turnovers and they’re scoring a lot of points on defense. We know they’re going to be tough. The good thing is their defense, you kind of know what you’re going to get. They’re not exotic. You see a lot of man coverage on third down, some two Tampa, some cover-3 mixed in. But they don’t have to do a lot because they’re a good team. They’re a sound, disciplined team and we’ll just have to find plays and make them.”

What have seen in Bears LB Brian Urlacher this season?

Ponder: “He looks good. The thing that sticks out to me is just his knowledge of the game. He’s able to read certain things. I was watching a play against Carolina. They were faking the power and throwing the slant backside. A lot of teams do that and right when he saw the play-action of the fake of the power, he immediately ran back to the slant and was able to knock the ball down. It just shows his football IQ. He’s been in this game for a long time and understands what offenses are doing and their tendencies and he’s playing at a high level right now.”

You completed a pass to yourself against the Lions for a negative 15 yards -- are you now going to freeze out yourself as a receiver?

Ponder: “No, man. I’ve got to get those 15 yards back. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve got to figure this out.”

For more Vikings news and notes, follow Joe Oberle on Twitter@CBSVikings and @joeoberle.