"Leslie Frazier had little choice.

With the season fading fast and his 34-year-old quarterback guiding a deflated offensive attack, Frazier inserted rookie quarterback Christian Ponder with 14:50 left Sunday night in a 39-10 loss to the Bears.

Ponder played about as expected, making a few plays while running for his life because of a much-maligned offensive line and completing 9 of 17 passes for 99 yards.

Now on to the aftermath: Start the rookie for the first time against the defending champion and undefeated Green Bay Packers in the Metrodome on Sunday? Or stick with Donovan McNabb and risk losing the locker room for good?

Surely, Frazier will be forced to make that call sooner rather than later.

"We've got to sit down and talk about a lot of things," he said after the game when asked if McNabb will be his starter next week. "