PRO FOOTBALL: SPOTLIGHT

VIKINGS’ SHIP CAME IN EARLY

The Minnesota Vikings earned a playoff berth Saturday without breaking a sweat.

Victories by the Patriots, Falcons and Giants propelled the Vikings into postseason play, no matter the outcome of their regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.

“I’m excited,” Viking offensive tackle Chris Hinton said. “But we really didn’t want to depend on other people. We’ve still got a game Monday night to win the division.”

Minnesota Coach Dennis Green became the seventh coach in NFL history to reach the postseason each of his first three seasons, and the Vikings’ receivers became recipients of some expensive gifts.

Cris Carter, keeping a preseason promise to reward his teammates if he made the Pro Bowl, doled out wristwatches--complete with the price tags.

There could be more goodies in store for everyone. If the Lions beat Miami tonight and the Vikings lose, Detroit wins the Central Division title. In that scenario, Minnesota would travel to Green Bay for a wild-card game. If Detroit and Minnesota both win or if the Lions lose and Minnesota wins, the Vikings play host to Chicago. If both teams lose, the Packers win the division and the Vikings play host to the Lions.

Got that?

GET WELL SOON

Dick Steinberg, vice president and general manager of the New York Jets for the last five years, received a preliminary diagnosis of treatable stomach cancer. Further diagnostic procedures and tests are proceeding to determine the course of treatment.

Dick Haley, director of player personnel, will assume Steinberg’s duties when necessary.

DOING THEIR PATRIOTIC DUTY

Players who suffered through the New England Patriots’ 46-10 loss to the Bears in Super Bowl XX got an extra bit of satisfaction from watching the current Patriots beat the Bears, 13-3, Saturday to earn a playoff berth.

“I wish this was the score nine years ago,” said former inside linebacker Steve Nelson.

Said former quarterback Steve Grogan: “I’m thrilled with the way they’re playing. It’s been a very big surprise they’re in the playoff hunt. I thought they’d finish .500.”

His new perspective has allowed Nelson to get caught up in New Englanders’ fervor over the Patriots’ success, an experience he missed when he was playing.

“When we were on the road for three weeks and the town got so excited from our victories, we didn’t get a chance to enjoy it,” Nelson said. “Now I really am. . . . I know what the fans felt like.”

McGWIRE GIVES CLEVELAND NO BROWNIE POINTS

Seattle quarterback Dan McGwire won’t be applying for membership in the Cleveland Browns’ fan club.

Despite Cleveland’s 11-5 record, which was embellished with a 35-9 trouncing of the Seahawks, McGwire claimed he wasn’t impressed by the Browns.

“They have a legitimate chance, but they are beatable,” McGwire said. “They’re not by any means a great team. Our team was plagued by injuries, and we played as hard as we could with what we had.”

HERE’S A LUMP OF COAL TO PUT IN YOUR STOCKING

In the true spirit of the season, the Cincinnati Bengals gave their fans a special gift on Christmas Eve.

After their 33-30 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bengals issued a press release announcing a $3-per-seat increase in ticket prices for next season.

If you don’t have a calculator handy, that works out to an increase of $1 per victory this season.

NOTEWORTHY

Andre Reed topped his 1989 Buffalo record of 88 receptions in a season with his second catch of the game, and finished the season with 90. . . . Ray Buchanan of Indianapolis made his seventh interception in seven games since moving from safety to cornerback. His eight interceptions are the most by a Colt since Eugene Daniel had eight in 1985. . . . Marshall Faulk finished his rookie season with 1,282 yards rushing, including 12 runs of 20 or more yards and 31 runs for at least 10 yards. His total is the third highest in franchise history, topped only by Eric Dickerson’s 1,659 in 1988 and 1,311 in 1989. . . . Sterling Sharpe had the 29th 100-yard receiving day of his career. Sharpe’s 18 touchdown catches this season lead the NFL and broke a 52-year-old Green Bay record of 17 that Don Hutson set in 1942. . . . Brett Favre had 24 completions, three for touchdowns, to set Packer single-season records in those categories. He finished with 363 completions, surpassing Don Majkowski’s 353 in 1989. He threw 33 touchdown passes, one more than Lynn Dickey had in 1983. . . . Natrone Means’ two rushing touchdowns gave him 12 for the year, the most for a Charger since Chuck Muncie had 12 in 1983. . . . Carl Pickens of Cincinnati had nine catches for 135 yards, tying a club record with his fifth 100-yard game of the season. He also went over 1,000 yards receiving (1,127) and tied the club record by finishing with 71 catches. Dan Ross also caught 71 in 1981. . . . Bengal defensive lineman Tim Krumrie, retiring after his 12th season, was honored on the field at halftime. The club presented him with a motorcycle, which he rode off the field. After the Bengals rallied to win, he drove back onto the field for a celebration. . . . Cleveland safety Eric Turner got his ninth interception of the season, tying him for second on the Brown single-season list. Thom Darden set the team record with 10 in 1978. Felix Wright (1989) and Tommy James (1950) also had nine. . . . The Cowboys are winless in their last three games without Emmitt Smith--the first two games last season and the last one this year. . . . Giant running back Rodney Hampton carried 26 times for 91 yards to finish the season with 1,075 yards, the fourth consecutive season he has gone over 1,000 yards, and the first time in history any Giant has had four 1,000-yard seasons. . . . Arizona’s Gary Clark had six catches for 96 yards, making him the only receiver in history with 50 or more catches in each of his first 10 seasons. . . . Jeff George started all 16 games for Atlanta this year, the first time a Falcon quarterback has done that since Steve Bartkowski in 1981. . . . Since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978, only four teams have finished with 1-15 records: New Orleans (1980), Dallas (1989), New England (1990), and Indianapolis (1991).

WHETHER THEY WON OR LOST, THE RAMS COULDN’T DRAW

This one was for all the comedians who said the Rams were so bad this season, they couldn’t beat a high school team.

Turns out they couldn’t beat a couple of high school teams--at the gate, anyway.

The Rams drew 25,705 to Anaheim Stadium on Saturday for their season finale, which might also be their farewell appearance as a Southern California team. Two high school playoff games this month attracted more fans than that to the Big A.

Mater Dei’s Division I semifinal victory over Los Alamitos on Dec. 2 drew 30,065. In the Division I final, played on Dec. 10, 26,295 watched Mater Dei defeat Bishop Amat, 28-21.

ON SECOND THOUGHT . . .

Oiler Coach Jeff Fisher jokingly said he would fine the player who doused him with Gatorade near the end of Houston’s 24-10 victory over the New York Jets, which ended an 11-game losing streak.

Told that the culprit was defensive end Ray Childress, who stands 6 feet 6 and weighs 272 pounds, Fisher let reason prevail.

“I may have to rethink that decision,” he said.

ZOOMING OFF INTO THE SUNSET

Bengal defensive lineman Tim Krumrie, retiring after 12 seasons, went out in style--Hell’s Angels style.

In a ceremony at halftime of Cincinnati’s game against the Eagles, the Bengals gave Krumrie a motorcycle, which he rode off the field. After the Bengals rallied to a 33-30 victory, he drove back onto the field to celebrate.

INJURIES

Quarterback Joe Montana left Kansas City’s game against the Raiders in the fourth quarter because of a bruised left knee. Montana was hit by Chester McGlockton after completing a 13-yard pass to J.J. Birden with 11:36 to go. The injury was not considered serious and Montana was able to walk along the sideline. Other quarterbacks hurt were San Diego’s Stan Humphries (bruised right thumb), Houston’s Bucky Richardson (sprained knee) and New Orleans’ Jim Everett, who bruised his throwing elbow late in the third quarter of the Saints’ 30-28 victory over Denver. . . . The Broncos’ John Elway didn’t play against New Orleans because of a strained muscle behind his left knee.

The Cowboys played without Emmitt Smith, who has a hamstring injury and was deactivated before their game against the Giants. . . . Several minor injuries occurred in Atlanta’s 10-6 victory over Arizona. Falcon defensive tackle Jumpy Geathers sprained his right ankle, wide receiver Bert Emanuel bruised his right knee and wide receiver Terance Mathis sprained his right shoulder. Arizona defensive end Clyde Simmons sprained his left foot. . . . The Chicago Bears’ Mark Bortz, who started the first 12 games at guard, sat out the last four games because of a knee injury. He might return for the playoffs. . . . Viking quarterback Warren Moon did not practice Saturday because of an injured left knee. Moon, who wouldn’t talk to reporters, is questionable for Minnesota’s game against San Francisco on Monday.

QUOTEWORTHY

“We beat the Super Bowl champions and I don’t care what you say or what they say. They had their special teams out there and their defense and they were minus one player for the game. I know people will say it would have been different if Emmitt had played and maybe so. But we won the game. It’s history.”

--Giant linebacker Corey Miller after the Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 15-10.

‘ ‘ This is about as happy as I’ve been in a long time.”

--Patriot Coach Bill Parcells after his team’s seventh consecutive victory.

“Back in, crawl in, fall in, once you’re in, you’re in.”

--Detroit Coach Wayne Fontes, explaining why he didn’t mind that his team qualified for the playoffs through losses by the Bears and Cardinals.

TONIGHT’S GAME

Detroit at Miami

5 p.m., ESPN

Detroit running back Barry Sanders needs 169 yards to become the third player to gain 2,000 yards in one season. Miami’s strength this season has been at stopping the run--Marshall Faulk gained only 69 yards last week--but Sanders is undoubtedly the the best the Dolphins will see this season.

Sanders has six runs of more than 60 yards this season. The rest of NFL has three.

If Sanders plays well, the Lions will be able to use play-action passes against the porous Miami pass defense. Quarterback Dave Krieg has turned around the Lion passing game since taking over for former Dolphin Scott Mitchell seven games ago. Krieg has thrown for 13 touchdowns and only one interception. His top receiver has been Herman Moore, who has 67 catches for 1,118 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Lions (9-6) and the Dolphins (9-6) are in the playoffs regardless of the result. The Lions win the NFC Central title with a victory and a Minnesota loss to San Francisco on Monday.

The Dolphins, who played poorly while having an opportunity to win the AFC East title last Sunday, can still clinch the division title with a victory. Last Sunday, the Dolphins lost to the Colts, 10-6, after failing at four attempts from inside the Colt five-yard line with two minutes left in the game. It was the second goal-line stand of the game by the Colts.

Despite those problems, the Dolphins remain the top-scoring team in the AFC.

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--Compiled by Bob Cuomo, Helene Elliott, Houston Mitchell and Ara Najarian.