Leslie Frazier never thought to bench Christian Ponder

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder reportedly entered Sunday's 31-30 loss to the Chicago Bears with a "much shorter leash" than anyone realizes.

After Ponder's first four series versus the Bears produced three punts and a pick six, his trio of second-half scoring drives kept Vikings coach Leslie Frazier off his back.

"," Frazier said Monday, via ESPN.com. "After the interception, I just wanted to make sure that he was right mentally -- not concerned or just going over and over that interception. I wasn't thinking we needed to take him out. I just wanted to make sure he settled down."

It's not a good sign for the Vikings that they lost despite a kickoff return for a TD, as well as a fumble recovery returned for a TD by their defense. In each of the first two games, the rest of the team played well enough to win. It's the inconsistent passing game holding back the Vikings.

As we discussed on Sunday night's "Around The League Podcast", the length of Ponder's leash directly is proportional to the quarterback's ability to put wins on the board. If the Vikings take down the Cleveland Brownsnext week, Ponder will keep backup QB Matt Cassel at bay.

The "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 2 game. Click here to listen and subscribe.