Ugly Victory Looks Good to Vikings : Interconference: Despite turnovers, Minnesota gets past Pittsburgh, 6-3, to clinch NFC Central title.

On a day when the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, it seemed the Minnesota Vikings would need a miracle to score a touchdown.

They never did, but they got something even better--a division championship and a trip to the playoffs.

The Vikings survived a succession of missed scoring chances and turnovers and defeated the Steelers, 6-3, Sunday to clinch the NFC Central title, their first since 1989.

Fuad Reveiz’s 36-yard field goal as time expired was the difference.

The Vikings (10-5) ended a two-game losing streak as the Steelers (10-5), the AFC Central champions, were held without a touchdown for the second consecutive week. Pittsburgh lost, 30-6, last week to the Chicago Bears.

The Steelers, apparently not inspired by a pregame salute to Franco Harris’ miraculous 1972 playoff catch against the Raiders, must beat Cleveland next Sunday to gain a first-round bye in the playoffs.

“We wanted to take care of business today, we didn’t want to wait until next week,” said Viking quarterback Sean Salisbury, who overcame a dreadful first half to direct two fourth-quarter drives that led to field goals. “We played with a sense of urgency, but there was no panic.”

There wasn’t much offense, either, except for Terry Allen and Barry Foster, a pair of 1,000-yard backs.

The Vikings’ Allen ran for a season-high 172 yards in 33 carries to push his season’s total to 1,101 yards.

Foster carried 24 times for 118 yards to record his 11th 100-yard game of the season and run his NFL-leading total to 1,587 yards.

Salisbury, who replaced ineffective Rich Gannon for the second time this season after a 20-17 loss to San Francisco last week, was only seven of 17 for 131 yards and lost two fumbles.

Pittsburgh’s Bubby Brister wasn’t much better. Brister was 13 of 22 for 160 yards as Pittsburgh constantly hurt itself with penalties and errors of execution.

Driving for a chance at a potential go-ahead score in the final four minutes, center Dermontti Dawson was called for holding on Leroy Thompson’s four-yard run to the Vikings 42, forcing Pittsburgh to punt.

“We had them on the ropes, we had them beat, but we let them get away,” said Brister, who is 0-2 with no touchdowns in his last two starts in place of the injured Neil O’Donnell.

With the score tied, at 3-3, after Reveiz’s 38-yarder 7:08 into the fourth quarter, the Vikings drove from their 21 to the Steeler 19 in the final three minutes behind a 35-yard pass play, Salisbury to Jake Reed, and six runs by Allen for 25 yards.

The Steelers attempted to ice Reveiz by calling a 40-second timeout just before the game-winner. He shrugged off the delay to convert as the final gun sounded, handing Pittsburgh its first loss at home in 10 games. The Steelers were 6-0 at home this season.

“To me, those situations are fun,” Reveiz said. “We want to be in that situation. I hit it good and I thought it had enough. It’s like playing golf, sometimes you hit on the screws and you know it’s good, sometimes you hit it and you say, ‘Uh oh,’ right away.”

The Vikings dominated the first half, but failed to score because of a botched 20-yard field-goal attempt and three lost fumbles. Salisbury mishandled two snaps, the second on the Steeler eight-yard line.

On their first drive, the Vikings drove deep into Steeler territory to set up a chip shot for Reveiz, but holder Harry Newsome couldn’t handle a bad snap and tried to throw a hurried pass to no avail.

Newsome, the Vikings’ punter, had a more shining moment in the third quarter, unloading a club-record 84-yard punt.