PRO FOOTBALL REPORT / WEEKDAY UPDATE : RAIDERS : Townsend Earned Start in Pro Bowl

Although four Raiders were named to the Pro Bowl, defensive end Greg Townsend was the only Raider voted into the starting lineup. An integral part of the Raider pass rush, Townsend has a career-high 12.5 sacks this season.

“I felt he should have made it last year but he didn’t,” Coach Art Shell said. “Now the players know who he is and respect him.”

Minnesota Viking Coach Jerry Burns, under fire because of the Vikings’ collapse this season, says he wants to return next season.

“There was a time earlier in the season when I was pretty discouraged about the way things were going,” Burns said. “It seemed like everything we did was backfiring on us and we had a lot of internal problems.”

But after losing six of their first seven games, the Vikings won five in a row, rekindling Burns’ enthusiasm. Burns, 63, the NFL’s oldest head coach, has a 44-33 record since succeeding Bud Grant in 1986.