NFL EXHIBITION ROUNDUP : McMahon Helps Vikings Beat Bills

Jim McMahon completed seven of nine passes for 67 yards and seldom-used running back Charles Evans rushed for a game-high 78 yards as the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Buffalo Bills, 20-6, in the American Bowl game at Berlin on Saturday.

The game attracted 67,132 fans to Olympic Stadium, the largest crowd to watch an NFL game in Berlin since the league began staging exhibition games in the city four years ago.

Playing his second game in a Minnesota uniform, McMahon directed the Vikings’ first scoring drive.

“Any time you go on the field, you better be ready to play,” said McMahon, who signed as a free agent this year. “That’s just the way I play the game. I’m more excited when (his teammates) do their jobs well because it helps me do my job better.”

Minnesota took a 17-0 halftime lead by taking advantage of two turnovers by the defending AFC champions.

San Diego 13, New England 7--The Chargers came within 3:53 of shutting out the Patriots in Bill Parcells’ debut as New England’s coach at San Diego.

Drew Bledsoe, the top pick in this year’s draft, threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown to avoid what would have been only the second shutout in Parcells’ head coaching career.

Bledsoe played the entire second half, completing nine of 21 passes for 78 yards. He was sacked twice by rookie end Raylee Johnson and overthrew many of his receivers.

Eric Bieniemy scored on a one-yard run and John Carney kicked two 32-yard field goals for the Chargers.

New Orleans 37, Houston 28--The Oilers picked up where they left off last season by allowing Saint quarterback Mike Buck to rally his team to victory in the first football game played in the Alamodome at San Antonio.

The Oilers led, 28-16, with 6:37 to play, but the Saints scored 21 points in 2:44 to gain control.

In last year’s playoffs, the Oilers blew a 35-3 lead and lost to Buffalo, 41-38--the biggest comeback in NFL playoff history.

Kansas City 29, Green Bay 21--Dave Krieg, Matt Blundin and Chip Hilleary handled the quarterbacking as Joe Montana watched from the sidelines, and the Chiefs took a 20-0 halftime lead against the Packers at Milwaukee.

Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre fumbled three times in the first half, and the two fumbles he lost set up Kansas City touchdowns.

Pittsburgh 17, New York Jets 13--The Steelers overcame three turnovers by rookie quarterback Alex Van Pelt to retake the lead on Leroy Thompson’s two-yard touchdown run with 5:13 remaining at Pittsburgh.

Van Pelt’s two fumbles and an interception in the third quarter resulted in a 13-10 Jet lead before Rick Strom, battling Van Pelt for a backup job, stepped in to drive the Steelers 78 yards in 12 plays for the go-ahead score.

Boomer Esiason, making his New York debut, completed 10 of 16 passes for 88 yards in the first half, but was mostly ineffective as the Steelers took a 10-3 halftime lead.

Denver 23, Tampa Bay 7--Jeff Mills and Muhammad Oliver returned two of the Broncos’ five interceptions for touchdowns at Tampa, Fla.

Mills intercepted a pass by Mike Pawlawski late in the second quarter and returned it 21 yards to break a scoreless tie. Tampa Bay kick returner Tyree Davis fumbled on the next play, setting up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Maddox to Derek Russell.

Oliver intercepted the first pass of the night thrown by 17th-year pro Steve DeBerg and ran 60 yards to give Denver a 20-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

New York Giants 27, Bengals 16--The Giants got impressive touchdown drives from quarterbacks Phil Simms and Kent Graham at Cincinnati.

Simms came off the bench to lead a last-minute drive that put the Giants ahead, 7-6, at halftime, and Graham sparked an 80-yard scoring drive that opened the second half and put New York in control.

Indianapolis 16, Seattle 13--Dean Biasucci kicked his third field goal of the game, a 43-yarder after 5:59 of overtime, to give the Colts the victory at Seattle.

Seattle played without rookie quarterback Rick Mirer and 300-pound defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy.