PRO FOOTBALL ’95 : Kramer Gets Bears Off to Good Start : NFC: He passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Conway, in 31-14 victory over Vikings.

It took Erik Kramer only one game to match his victory total of a year ago and avenge painful memories of the Minnesota Vikings.

Knocked out of Chicago’s starting quarterback job in an embarrassing loss to the Vikings last September, Kramer threw three touchdown passes Sunday as the Bears opened the season with a 31-14 victory over Minnesota.

“Erik made all the right reads, all the big plays, all the good throws,” Bear guard Jay Leeuwenburg said. “We’re not surprised at all. We knew he had it in him.”

While the Bears ended a six-game losing streak to the Vikings with a playoff upset at Minnesota last Jan. 1, Kramer sat on the bench and watched Steve Walsh lead the way.

This time, it was Kramer’s turn in the spotlight.

Signed to a three-year, $8.1 million free-agent contract before last season, Kramer won only one game as a starter in 1994. But he beat out Walsh this preseason, and he looked superb Sunday in completing 19 of 28 passes for 262 yards.

“I can’t understate how important it was,” Kramer said. “It was obvious that I needed to have a good game coming out and gain the momentum and the confidence of my teammates. Good things come to those who wait.”

Kramer threw for first-half touchdowns on plays of 73 and five yards to former USC standout Curtis Conway and also had a two-yard scoring pass to Keith Jennings that gave the Bears a 21-14 lead in the third quarter. Kramer’s 29-yard pass to Jeff Graham on the Bears’ next possession set up rookie Rashaan Salaam’s three-yard touchdown run.

Salaam, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, rushed 10 times for 47 yards. Conway had five catches for 110 yards, Graham eight for 107.

“It’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve moved the ball up and down the football field,” Chicago third-year Coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Running and throwing it, with some type of execution and some type of confidence.”

Meanwhile, 1995 remains horrific for the Vikings. Sandwiched between the losses to the Bears were numerous off-the-field problems, including Warren Moon’s admission he had physically abused his wife.

Moon, trying to prove he can still be a winning quarterback at age 38, was 26 of 36 for 247 yards and a touchdown. But he was nowhere near as effective as Kramer in the game’s key moments.

Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Vikings trailing, 28-14, and facing a fourth and one, Moon let the play clock expire for a delay-of-game penalty. On fourth and six, his pass to Amp Lee was off-target. On Minnesota’s next possession, Moon was intercepted by Dwayne Joseph, and Kevin Butler followed with the clinching 21-yard field goal.