NFL Exhibition Roundup : Sweden Gets a Taste of Football as Vikings Beat Bears, 28-21

The Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears, 28-21, at Goteborg, Sweden, Sunday in the first National Football League exhibition game on the European continent.

The Vikings scored the decisive touchdown 1:27 into the final quarter on Wade Wilson’s 4-yard scoring pass to Reggie Ward.

A crowd of 33,150, about 19,000 under capacity, sat in a steady rain at Ullevi Stadium, named for the God of Viking.

Minnesota scored on its first drive on D.J. Dozier’s one-yard run, but Chicago’s Neal Anderson ran 19 yards for a touchdown to tie it, 7-7, later in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, Anthony Carter electrified the crowd when he took a short pass from Tommy Kramer and outran the Chicago secondary on a 73-yard touchdown play that put the Vikings ahead, 14-7.

The Bears tied it with 1:56 left in the first half when Mike Tomczak completed a 21-yard scoring pass to Dennis Gentry.

Wilson threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Hassan Jones with 7:36 remaining in the third quarter, but the Bears tied the game for the last time with 1:51 left in the third quarter on rookie Brad Muster’s one-yard scoring dive.

About the battle between Kramer and Wilson, Minnesota Coach Jerry Burns said: “Both players looked good. I can’t say who played better until I look at the films. There is no decision on who will start or who is playing better.”

Chicago quarterback Jim McMahon, playing for little more than a quarter as he did in the Bears victory over the Miami Dolphins, finished his brief outing with 3 completions in 3 attempts and led the team to its first score.

Pittsburgh 21, Philadelphia 16--Former UCLA quarterback Steve Bono connected on scoring pass plays of 66 yards to rookie Warren Williams and 56 yards to Charles Lockett in the final quarter, and the Steelers overcame the Eagles at Pittsburgh.

The Steelers trailed, 16-7, after the Eagles’ Dale Dawson kicked a 28-yard field goal with 9:07 left. Bono hit Williams 22 seconds later to cut the Eagles’ lead to 16-14.

On Pittsburgh’s next play from scrimmage, Lockett got behind cornerback D.D. Hoggard on the left sideline, and Bono hit him in stride for the winning score.

Bono, who signed with Minnesota in 1985 and was released the following season before being picked up by the Steelers, completed 6 of 14 for 155 yards with 2 interceptions.