PRO FOOTBALL : Big Return by Viking Little Guy : Lewis’ 78-Yard Play Leads Minnesota Past the Falcons, 24-13

It took the littlest Viking, Leo Lewis, to overcome the grotesque play of Minnesota’s three-headed quarterback monster.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Lewis had the Vikings’ first punt-return touchdown in 19 years Sunday, leading the Vikings to a 24-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

“We needed something to spark us,” said Lewis, whose 78-yard return with 5:48 left in the third quarter gave the Vikings a 17-7 lead. “The defense was holding its own, but the offense has definitely been struggling.”

Minnesota (6-4), which is 6-1 in non-strike games, went through three quarterbacks--Tommy Kramer, Wade Wilson and Rich Gannon--but sent the Falcons (2-8) to their fifth straight defeat.

Kramer, who bruised his throwing hand on the final play of the first quarter when he was hit by Greg Brown, completed 5 of 9 passes for 43 yards. He was making his second start since returning from a pinched nerve.

Wilson, who has been alternating the last three weeks with Kramer, was 7 of 18 for 111 yards. Gannon, a rookie who entered the game at the start of the fourth period, was 2 of 6 for 18 yards in his NFL debut before Wilson came back into the game.

“Tommy wasn’t playing his regular game,” said Wilson, who threw his helmet to the ground when he was replaced. “I wasn’t playing mine and when Rich came in, he wasn’t playing his. If you make one mistake, you’re out. They’ve got us looking over our shoulders.”

After Atlanta narrowed the Vikings’ lead to 17-13 on Scott Campbell’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Aubrey Matthews, Minnesota’s Carl Hilton blocked Donnelly’s punt. The Vikings took over at the Atlanta eight and Allen Rice’s two-yard run with 5:48 left clinched the victory.

“Our guys fought hard and played tough,” Atlanta Coach Marion Campbell said. “But you can’t give up two touchdowns on special teams and expect to win. We were jacked up and feeling good about ourselves. The special-team touchdowns really hurt.”

Poor play in the kicking game set up four Cleveland scores in Atlanta’s 38-3 loss two weeks ago.

“From last year we thought we made some big improvements,” linebacker Joe Costello said. “But in the last two to three weeks, we’ve had some big blunders.”

Wilson’s eight-yard scoring pass to Hilton and Chuck Nelson’s 51-yard field goal helped the Vikings take a 10-7 halftime lead. Atlanta’s first-half points came on Campbell’s seven-yard scoring run on a quarterback draw.