Redskins Won’t Try to Return Favor : NFC: The Vikings helped Washington reach the playoffs by beating the Packers. Rypien returns to site of Super Bowl glory.

When Mark Rypien and the Washington Redskins came to this chilly city last January, they won a Super Bowl and Rypien won the MVP trophy.

Things have not gone so well since, for Rypien or the Redskins, who are still playing only because of good luck and the kindness of Vikings.

Today, the defending Super Bowl champions find themselves matched against those same NFC Central-winning Minnesota Vikings, who put the Redskins into the postseason by beating the Green Bay Packers on the final weekend of the season.

The Redskins needed the Vikings’ help to earn a playoff berth after losing their final two games of the season, including the finale at home against a Raider team with no playoff hopes.

Washington lost, 21-20, when Vince Evans rallied the Raiders, and Washington had to wait a day to watch Minnesota beat the Packers, giving Washington (9-7) the third NFC wild-card berth.

The Vikings (11-5) at last appear to have their quarterback situation ironed out. After several switches back-and-forth between veteran Rich Gannon and long-time backup Sean Salisbury, Coach Dennis Green has decided to go with Salisbury, who has never started a playoff game.

Last season, Rypien completed 18 passes of 40 yards or longer, building toward his MVP performance in beating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI, played in the Metrodome.

This season, the Redskins have had a series of injuries to their once-dominant offensive line, and Rypien has completed only nine passes of more than 40 yards.

Rypien, who sat out most of training camp because of contract holdout, eventually got his $3-million-plus-per-season salary, but has had no 300-yard passing games and has looked awkward much of the time.

His quarterback rating, which was No. 2 in the conference last season, was last in the NFC this season.

“You’re going to be remembered by how you finish, and I think we all feel that way,” Rypien told the Washington Post this week. “We’re in the playoffs, which is more than a lot of teams can say.

“It’s obvious there are some things I could have done, some things I would have liked to have done and some things I didn’t do. All in all, let’s just see how it ends up. We still have a chance for greatness.”

Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs agrees that Rypien and his team will be judged by what happens in the playoffs, not by what it took to get them there.

“When this season is over, we’ll all know how Mark Rypien played,” Gibbs told reporters in Washington earlier this season. “Until then, we don’t know. Why rush it?”

In an earlier game this season in the Metrodome, the Redskins struggled to put the ball in the end zone, but beat the Vikings, 15-13, on five field goals by Chip Lohmiller.

While Rypien and Salisbury get most of the attention on these two hot-and-cold offenses, Green says that the running game and defenses of both teams will decide the outcome.

“We’ve got to run the ball to be successful, and we know that the one thing they can do well is run the football,” Green said.

“The team that wins will be the team that plays good run defense and runs the ball well. That’s the best way to use up five or six minutes and get some points. We’re going to work very hard at defending the run . . . and running it ourselves.”

Green’s main running threat is tailback Terry Allen, who set a club record by rushing for 1,201 yards, stepping ably into the big-play role the Vikings for years wished Herschel Walker could fill.

When Green decides to let Salisbury pass, he will have the team’s leading receiver, Cris Carter, back in the lineup. Carter sat out three games because of a shoulder separation.

The Redskins, who have been bruised throughout this season, have most of their offensive line returning, including left tackle Jim Lachey, but cornerback Darrell Green suffered a knee injury against the Raiders and probably will sit out.

“They deserve to be the favorites,” Washington running back Earnest Byner said of the Vikings. “We played well enough to get into the playoffs, and we get a chance to start over from scratch. But this isn’t last year.”