Salisbury Gets His Chance, Leads Vikings : NFC: Former USC quarterback sees first NFL action since 1987 after Gannon is hurt; Buccaneers’ Testaverde also sidelined.

Sean Salisbury’s head ached. His left shoulder throbbed. His body felt like one big bruise.

He hadn’t been so happy for a long time.

“I don’t want to say it’s nice to get beat up, but it sure is nice to get hit again,” Salisbury said Sunday after quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings to a 26-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“All I know is it’s gonna be a lot more enjoyable going home tonight with bruises and bumps than it was standing around like I did for two years.”

Both teams are 2-1, with Minnesota winning the home coaching debut of Dennis Green and Tampa Bay losing for the first time under Sam Wyche.

Forced into action early Sunday when Rich Gannon sprained his right hand while throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter, Salisbury completed 12 of 22 passes for 162 yards, including a 29-yard scoring pass to Carter in the third quarter.

The touchdown pass was Salisbury’s first in the NFL.

X-rays of Gannon’s wrist showed a small bone chip, but the Vikings said the injury was not serious enough to require a cast.

Salisbury also was hurt, getting knocked woozy while throwing a pass early in the fourth quarter.

“My head hit the turf and my shoulder did, too,” he said. “I was in a major fog. I was in left field thinking I was in right field. Fortunately, the rest of the team pulled me through.”

Reached later at his home in Bloomington, Minn., Salisbury said: “Just now the cobwebs are starting to disappear. It’s starting to sink in that I finally got to play, that I threw my first NFL touchdown pass and that we won the game. I’ll tell you, it feels pretty darn good.

“Another thing that made this day special was that my younger brother, Brett, was here visiting with his wife and was at the game.”

Brett Salisbury, a quarterback at Oregon last season, is now playing at Division II Wayne State in Wayne, Neb.

Sean Salisbury, after an up-and-down career at USC, was not drafted in 1986, and was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent. He made the team but never played as a rookie and was cut in 1987 despite having a good exhibition season.

Midway through the 1987 season, Salisbury was picked up by the Indianapolis Colts and played in two games, throwing 12 passes. That was his last regular-season NFL action until Sunday.

Salisbury spent a season-and-a-half in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, leading them to the Grey Cup championship in 1988.

He was picked up as a free agent by the Vikings in 1989 and his exhibition-season play was good enough to keep him on the team as a backup.

“It’s been a long wait, but the wait was worth it,” Salisbury said.

The Buccaneers also had injury problems at quarterback.

Vinny Testaverde lost feeling in his right arm when tackled early in the second quarter. He was replaced by Steve DeBerg, who completed 19 of 29 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns but couldn’t keep the Buccaneers unbeaten.

“Vinny came to me in the fourth quarter and said he could go, that the feeling was coming back,” Wyche said. “We’ll see during the week if he’s all right. If he is, I imagine he will start (at Detroit next Sunday).”

Wyche was more concerned about his team’s emotional state.

“We will find out how we handle a loss,” he said. “It’s a pretty quiet room right now. We’re disappointed we didn’t play our best.”

The Vikings also felt they played poorly--until the third quarter, when their defense began manhandling the Buccaneers and when Salisbury and the offense got going.

“We had to face some adversity early on,” Salisbury said. “But we persevered. I’ve become an expert on perseverance. It’s something I’ve done my whole career.”

After DeBerg threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Courtney Hawkins and led the Buccaneers on a 76-yard drive that ended with Ken Willis’ 29-yard field goal--giving Tampa Bay a 13-7 halftime lead--Minnesota coaches demanded better play.

“First we corrected some X’s and O’s,” said Viking linebacker Jack Del Rio, also a teammate of Salisbury’s at USC. “Then the coaches said, ‘Hey, it’s there for the taking. Are you gonna take it or are you gonna let a team that isn’t as good as you take it from you?’ ”

The Vikings stopped Tampa Bay on its first second-half possession and Salisbury marched them 57 yards for a 14-13 lead. He completed a 16-yard pass to Hassan Jones on third and 11 and passed 18 yards to Carter before Terry Allen scored on a one-yard run.