Salisbury Leads Vikings Over Packers, 27-7 : NFC: Quarterback passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns in victory that eliminates Green Bay.

The Minnesota Vikings made sure they wouldn’t have to play the Green Bay Packers again this season. Instead, they get the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins.

Sean Salisbury ignited the Vikings’ dormant pass offense, completing 20 of 33 passes for a career-high 292 yards and two touchdowns, as Minnesota beat Green Bay, 27-7, Sunday.

The loss eliminated the Packers (9-7) from playoff contention and stopped their six-game winning streak.

“I’m glad we got them out of the way,” said tight end Steve Jordan, who caught Salisbury’s first touchdown pass. “I thought all the rhetoric about them coming in here to find out who was the best team was bogus.”

The NFC Central champion Vikings (11-5) will play host to the Redskins (9-7) in a first-round playoff game Saturday.

Washington, which beat Minnesota, 15-13, on Oct. 25, wouldn’t have made the playoffs without the Vikings’ help.

“I’ll remind Mark Rypien that he owes us one,” said Salisbury, a good friend of the Redskins’ quarterback.

Because Washington was upset by the Raiders the previous day, the Packers knew Sunday that a victory would put them in the playoffs for the first time in a non-strike season since 1972. Green Bay would have returned to the Metrodome next weekend.

Instead, the Packers lost the tiebreaker because Washington had a better record in conference games.

One bright spot for the Packers was Sterling Sharpe’s setting an NFL record. He caught six passes to end the season with 108 receptions, eclipsing Art Monk’s 106-reception season of 1984.

Terry Allen ran for 100 yards in 20 carries and set the Vikings’ single-season rushing record with 1,201 yards. Chuck Foreman gained 1,155 yards in 1976, Minnesota’s last Super Bowl season.

The Vikings had been relying almost exclusively on Allen’s running and their outstanding defense to win the division title.

Between them, Salisbury and Rich Gannon had combined for only two touchdown passes since the Redskin game. Viking Coach Dennis Green has flip-flopped his quarterbacks the last five weeks, looking for a hot hand.

He found one in Salisbury, a former USC quarterback who played in Canada before joining the Vikings as a free agent in 1990. Salisbury, making only his fourth NFL start and first at the Metrodome, is 3-1 as a starter and 3-0 in relief of Gannon. He had Minnesota’s best passing game since Gannon threw for 318 yards back on Sept. 27.

Salisbury had a 13-yard first-quarter touchdown toss to Jordan in the first quarter and teamed with another tight end, Mike Tice, on a 34-yard scoring pass play in the second quarter. In the third, Salisbury’s 51-yard pass to Jake Reed on third and 11 set up a one-yard scoring run by Allen.

“This was just my fourth start,” Salisbury said. “I’m starting to feel more comfortable.”

He looked it.

“Before this week, I felt Sean was trying to make things happen too much and trying to prove what he could do in this league instead of working within the system,” Tice said. “I’m proud of what Sean did today. He showed a lot of poise and looked very much in control.”

Brett Favre, who had quarterbacked the Packers into playoff contention after replacing injured Don Majkowski early in the season, was 23 of 35 for 187 yards and had three passes intercepted by Vencie Glenn.