By Dan Durkin-

(CBS) — It only took him 10 tries, but Bears defensive end Jared Allen got his first win at Soldier Field, against his former team nonetheless, in Chicago’s 21-13 win against Minnesota.

Sunday was easily Allen’s best performance since signing with the Bears this offseason. Allen regularly got the best of Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil, registering three hits and one quarterback sack.

“It’s huge,” Allen said after the Bears improved to 4-6. “We needed it. It was time to get some confidence and get back on the right track. I thought we did a great job of playing team ball today.”

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After playing back-to-back games against two future Hall-of-Famers — Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers — getting rookie Teddy Bridgewater was a necessary reprieve for a Bears defense that had allowed 106 points and 11 passing touchdowns in the past three games.

All game, Bridgewater was indecisive with his reads, dropping his eye level in the pocket and sometimes seeing ghosts in the pocket that led to errant passes. On the day, Bridgewater finished 18-for-28 for 158 yards one touchdown and a crucial interception in the end zone (picked by Ryan Mundy) that ended the game.

“We didn’t do anything special,” Allen said. “We just played aggressive, and I really think we have to focus on doing that. I think, for starters, we were able to shut down the run game early and force him into throwing the ball. Our backfield did a heck of a job covering those guys. And, even when we didn’t sack him, we had him off his spot, off his mark, moving in the pocket. We didn’t allow him to get out and get comfortable. So, guys just played well off of each other today.”