NFL PLAYOFFS : Vikings Want Bears’ Jinx to Continue : NFC: Minnesota has won six in a row from Chicago since Todd Scott’s interception turned the tide in 1992.

The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings meet for the first time today in postseason play in an NFC wild-card game, but for Chicago the vibes are not good.

For 30 years, these clubs had memorable confrontations--between the Monsters of the Midway and the Purple People Eaters--and after 61 collisions, Minnesota managed a one-game edge.

But then came the turning point in a series now dominated by the Vikings.

October 1992: The Bears were winning, 20-0, in the fourth quarter, and quarterback Jim Harbaugh called an audible, one that would be heard around the world after Coach Mike Ditka’s sideline explosion.

“They’ve shown me Ditka’s reaction on the sideline about 50 million times,” Viking safety Todd Scott said. “I guess old Harbaugh wasn’t supposed to throw the ball, but I thought it was a good play.”

Scott, assigned coverage of running back Neal Anderson, backed off Anderson to give Harbaugh the impression he could throw the ball for a big gain. Harbaugh fell for it, called off a running play and attempted to throw the ball to Anderson, but Scott was there for the interception he returned 35 yards for a touchdown.

The Vikings rallied to win, 21-20, and the Bears have yet to right themselves against Minnesota. Since Scott’s interception, the Bears have lost six consecutive times to the Vikings, including two games this season.

The Vikings have outscored the Bears, 163-70, since the audible, and, in five of the last six games, a Viking defender has scored a touchdown. The Bears have never beaten Minnesota Coach Dennis Green (6-0), and Chicago Coach Dave Wannstedt (0-4) has never beaten the Vikings. The Bears have lost six of the seven games they’ve played in the Metrodome and Scott remains employed by the Vikings as their starting strong safety.

“All people ever remember is that one play,” Scott said. “I’ve had some successful seasons and played in a Pro Bowl, but I guess I’d rather be remembered for some thing, anything I guess, so long as it’s good.

“But you know what, I don’t think the Chicago players are sitting there and saying, ‘As long as Todd is there, there’s a jinx against us.’ Of course, they haven’t beaten us since the interception, and seven straight wins would be very nice.”

The Bears (9-7), who recorded only one victory--27-13 over the Rams--in their final four regular-season games, lost to Minnesota in Chicago, 42-14, and then fell in overtime at the Metrodome, 33-27.

“If the last game would not have come down to overtime, I would say that there would be a definite advantage, possibly psychological and physical from the Vikings’ standpoint,” Wannstedt said. “We have played well in Minnesota; we just haven’t won.”

In addition to having noise on their side in the Metrodome, the Vikings (10-6) will send five players to the Pro Bowl; the Bears none. The Vikings also have the NFL’s No. 1 defense against the run, have scored eight defensive touchdowns and, in Warren Moon, have a quarterback who needs only one more 300-yard passing game in postseason play to match the four of NFL leaders Dan Fouts and Joe Montana.

Moon, 3-6 in the playoffs while with Houston, has recovered sufficiently from a knee sprain to start against the Bears. He will be throwing to Cris Carter, who set a league record with 122 catches, including a 65-yard scoring play in overtime to defeat the Bears.

Carter’s catch came two plays after Chicago kicker Kevin Butler missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt.

“We don’t believe in carryover streaks,” said Green in dismissing the Vikings’ dominance of the Bears. “We’re going to focus on playing the Chicago Bears playoff team and not any team we played before.”

The Vikings, who have given up the fourth-fewest yards on the ground (an average of 68.1), are 7-0 when their own running back, Terry Allen, gains more than 100 yards. The Bears’ defense against the run ranks 24th.

The Bears’ offense will be guided by quarterback Steve Walsh, who was Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro player of the year in 1984 after finishing a successful career at St. Paul’s Cretin High. Walsh, a backup when the season opened, was 8-3 as a starter in relief of an injured and then ineffective Erik Kramer.

Walsh began 7-0, however, and has struggled lately, completing only 54.1% of his passes in going 1-3 down the stretch. He failed to complete 50% of his passes in each of his last two games, and Kramer may yet get the chance to finish what he started.

“We don’t want Steve looking over his shoulder and thinking we’re going to make a change after the first series,” Wannstedt said. “But we will do what we think is necessary to win.”

Kidnaping Todd Scott might also help.