Saints 24 Vikings 31 A pair of length-of-the-field Saints touchdowns did little more than annoy the Vikings, as Brad Johnson repeatedly drove his team downfield at will. The game began as a defensive struggle- each of the first four drives went backwards. The net effect was to give the Saints the ball at their 46 following a 10 yd punt return. Two Ray Zellars runs set up 3rd & 1, but a third run by the back didn't gain the needed yard. Mark Royals' punt went out-of-bounds at the 6. Brad Johnson took over the QB reins from starter Randall Cunningham, who injured his knee in early action. The signal-caller sneaked for a 1st on 3rd & 2, then gave to Robert Smith for 15. Next came a 9 yd throw to Andrew Glover, followed by a 40 yd Smith run. Alex Molden did a pretty good job of covering Carter on 3rd & goal from the 5, but the WR made the TD catch anyway. The PAT put Minnesota up 7-0 with 2:32 left in the first quarter. The home team committed a personal foul during the into-the-endzone kickoff, so the Saint O started at its 35. The team moved to the Viking 35 in five plays- Zellars 9 catch, Zellars 7 run, Billy Joe Tolliver 7 run, Lamar Smith 5 run, Smith 2 run. Defensive offside put the ball at the 30, but back-to-back false starts by Cam Cleeland and William Roaf pushed the team out of FG range. Royals angled for the coffin corner but missed; the punt went for a touchback. Johnson went back to work, picking up five consecutive 1sts via the air- to Palmer for 6 on 3rd & 2, to Palmer again for 9 on 3rd & 4, to Carter for 13 on 3rd & 7, to Reed for 12 on 2nd & 8, to Moss for 6 on 3rd & 3. The drive died when the Vikings were flagged for illegal motion three times in a row. Anderson kicked a 28 yd FG with 1:37 left before halftime. Aaron Craver received the ensuing kickoff deep in the endzone and unwisely decided to run the ball out. He was popped at the 16 and coughed up the pigskin; Minnesota recovered at the 4. Leroy Hoard ran it in on the next play. Craver fielded the next kickoff at the goal line and was tripped up inside the 20, but the whistle didn't blow. As the Vikings gave up on the play, Craver got up and ran all the way in for a TD. The gift from the zebras reduced the deficit to 10. Not satisfied with that state of affairs, the Vikings set out from their 16 with 66 seconds and a will to score. A 41 yd sideline catch by Reed put Minnesota at the NO 28. On the next play Glover caught a ball for 18; a spike stopped the clock at :12. The visitors kept them from scoring, however- pressure from Wayne Martin permitted Sammy Knight to pick off a throw into the endzone. The Vikings returned the second half kickoff only as far as the 10, and the Saint D forced a 3 & punt series. The passing game finally woke up during the ensuing drive, with Tolliver notching 64 yds through the air with a pair of throws to Sean Dawkins and one each to Keith Poole and Smith. Doug Brien kicked a 20 yarder to make it 17-10 Minnesota. The Vikings reestablished their breathing room immediately- Smith ran 61 yds for a TD on the next play from scrimmage. The Saints knifed back into Minnesota territory when Craver again demonstrated his speed with a 49 yd catch-and-run. A mixture of three Smith runs, two false starts, and one Zellars catch set up 2nd & goal from the 9. Craver took in a pass and dove for the endzone, slamming the ball onto the turf; the refs ruled he reached the goal line. With 3:09 left in the third quarter it was a seven-point game again. Johnson went back to work, throwing for 1st down yardage- to Palmer for 4 on 3rd & 3, to Carter for 17 on 1st & 10, to Reed for 12 on 3rd & 7, to Glover for 6 on 4th & 1 from the NO 30. From there, two Smith runs sandwiched by a pair of Carter catches set up 3rd & 3 from the 5. Knight added to his log of big plays by tipping Johnson's pass and ultimately controlling it at the 9, then returning the ball all the way for a TD. An unlikely tie was in force with 10:10 remaining. Johnson shook off his mistake and resumed his aerial success- to Glover for 34 on 2nd & 9, to Reed for 16. On 3rd & 7, he incredibly switched the ball to his left hand to hit Hoard for 19 on 3rd & 8. On 3rd & goal from the 1, Hoard elicited a Saint "Augh!" by punching it in for the score. The kick restored the seven-point margin with 3:43 left. The Saints got as far as 2nd & 1 at the Minnesota 48, but then the Vikings' pass rush took control- pressure caused Roaf to administer hands-to-the-face; Tolliver was sacked thrice. Two kneels extinguished the clock. stats & yardage histograms (from my "le Stat" system, not official) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ note: this stuff is meant to be read using a fixed-width font, like Courier note: the capital letters in the stats are used in the histograms and the drive chart to identify the players ..runnin'....../.......throwin' & catchin'........ 2- 8 b.J. tolliver 11-21 Lamar smith 1- 19 6-17 ray Zellars 2- 23 1- 7 Aaron craver 2- 58-1 Sean dawkins 3- 44 Keith poole 1- 14 andre Hastings 2- 11 incomplete 5 intercepted 0 20-53 11-16-169-1-0 J J Z A <--runs L ZZ L Z LL LZLLL LZL L ***************************************************************************** - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 yards gained 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 <------ ***************************************************************************** H H SK SL A Z SZ A <--passes ..runnin'......./.......throwin' & catchin'................. Randall cunningham 2- 3 Brad johnson 20-136-1 robert Smith 1- 9 4- 11-2 leroy Hoard 1- 19 1- 4 david Palmer 3- 19 3- 9 chuck Evans 1- 5 cris Carter 6- 71-1 Jake reed 5- 90 randy Moss 1- 6 andrew Glover 9- 94 greg Delong 1- 4 incomplete 8 2 intercepted 2 0 30-163-3 28-38-317-1-2 0-2-0-0-0 B EE BH SP SSHESH <--runs SSSSSS S SSSSSSH S S S ***************************************************************************** - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 yards gained 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 <------ ***************************************************************************** G GEGGGG CJCC JCGH G J D GC C J P P J <--passes M P S comments ^^^^^^^^ * Johnson accomplished his heroics despite fracturing the thumb of his throwing hand during the first possession of the second half * in seven of nine games, the Saints haven't come close to rushing for 100 yds ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu