Testaverde Has Off Day; Vikings Win

Two weeks ago, when victorious Minnesota players labeled Tampa Bay a “mediocre” team after a 14-13 victory, the Buccaneers felt insulted.

Today, they’d be thrilled with the description.

Minnesota’s Wade Wilson passed for 335 yards and 3 touchdowns while Tampa Bay counterpart Vinny Testaverde elicited boos with 6 interceptions and a fumble Sunday as the Vikings emerged from their recent lethargy with a 49-20 rout of the bumbling Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay beat the Vikings for the 8th time in 9 games. The Vikings came into the game with 2 losses in 3 games, scoring just 35 points in that span.

Many Buccaneers thought the Vikings didn’t give them enough respect 2 weeks ago in the Metrodome, when Tampa Bay fell seconds short of an upset. Newspaper clippings were taped to the locker room door this week at team’s headquarters in Tampa Bay.

“If a team is hurting that bad that they gotta use stupid quotes to motivate them, well . . . ,” said Minnesota defensive tackle Keith Millard. “We proved we are the better team. With their record and our record, we should have won the first time. That’s all I meant.”

Wilson, who completed 22 of 30 passes, hit Steve Jordan for a pair of 4-yard scores and found Anthony Carter from 26 yards out for another touchdown. Rick Fenney added a 1-yard scoring run as the Vikings jumped to a 28-10 halftime lead. Rookie Brad Edwards returned an interception 37 yards for a third-quarter touchdown, Allen Rice scored from 4 yards out and D.J. Dozier added a 2-yard touchdown run.

Tampa Bay (2-6) lost for the fifth time in six games as the Vikings scored 28 points following turnovers. Testaverde played a solid first quarter, hitting Bruce Hill for an 8-yard score after directing a 65-yard march capped by Donald Igwebuike’s 18-yard field goal.

But, for the most part, it was a bad day for Testaverde.

“My confidence is still high, I just made stupid mistakes,” said Testaverde, who was coming off a 469-yard passing effort at Indianapolis last week. “The line gave me great protection and I just want to forget about this game. In college, you can get by with making mistakes--not in the pros. I think that me trying to do too much myself is really stupid.”

Testaverde completed only 19 of 45 passes for 222 yards and threw his 22nd interception this season.