Vikings Stay Alive for Playoffs

Scott Sisson sat on the sidelines and wondered if he’d get a second chance. When he did, it turned into personal redemption and the end of the Minnesota Vikings’ four-game losing streak.

Sisson, who missed a 38-yard attempt late in the fourth quarter, kicked a 31-yard field goal with 3:07 left in overtime to boost Minnesota’s playoff hopes with a 16-13 victory Sunday night over the Raiders.

“All I could do was sit back and hope I’d get another shot,” said Sisson, who also kicked field goals of 22 and 25 yards for the Vikings (6-5). “It was a replay. It was almost like you could rewind the tape.”

The Raiders (4-7) lost in overtime for the second consecutive week. They lost, 20-17, at Tampa Bay last week.

Sisson’s winning field goal was set up by a 16-play, 71-yard drive that lasted 8:34. The key plays included a 12-yard pass from Brad Johnson to Andrew Jordan and a 12-yard run by Scottie Graham.

Oakland won the coin toss and received the ball first in overtime, but had to punt. The Raiders never got the ball back.

“We’re in a playoff race. We’re seventh in a six-team race,” said Viking Coach Dennis Green, whose team is in second place in the NFC Central. “Once we get to the top six, we have our destiny in our hands again. When we lost four in a row, we lost control.”

Minnesota, which led, 10-0, after the first quarter, also had an 82-yard scoring pass from Johnson to Jake Reed.

The Raiders are 0-6 this season in games decided by less than a touchdown.

“I think it would be easier if we were blown out,” tailback Harvey Williams said. “But it keeps going that way. It’s right at the end when it gets away. It’s weird.”

The game was played in miserable weather, ranging from a light mist to a downpour. The 62,500-seat Oakland Coliseum appeared to be half-empty at kickoff. The official attendance was 41,183.

Johnson, filling in for the injured Warren Moon, completed 20 of 33 passes for 275 yards with two interceptions in his third NFL start. Leroy Hoard, signed by the Vikings less than two weeks ago, had 108 yards on 20 carries.

The Vikings dominated the opening quarter, holding the Raiders to 22 yards and building a 10-point lead.

Their first drive, which ended with Sisson’s 22-yard field goal, lasted 18 plays and 8:42.

Their second drive was considerably quicker--on the third play, Reed beat Terry McDaniel on a slant and avoided a tackle by safety Lorenzo Lynch before running alone to the end zone on the last play of the quarter.

The Raiders went to a no-huddle offense in the second quarter, but it did little good. The Oakland defense provided some points, however, when McDaniel stepped in front of Cris Carter and went untouched for the touchdown that pulled the Raiders within 10-7.

Oakland tied the game in the third quarter when Cole Ford, who missed chip-shot field goals that doomed the Raiders to losses the previous two weeks, connected on a 26-yarder.