Vikings Go 4-0, Stop Leaf

Maybe new owner Red McCombs really knew what he was talking about when he said the Minnesota Vikings might win every game this season.

Brad Johnson threw three first-half touchdown passes--none of them to players named Carter, Reed or Moss--as the Vikings finished the exhibition season unbeaten with a 42-28 victory over the San Diego Chargers at Minneapolis.

The Vikings (4-0) made the new boss look pretty smart and made it a tough night for rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf.

The second overall pick in the draft, Leaf played the first half and completed seven of 15 passes for 92 yards.

*

Steve DeBerg, trying at 44 to become the oldest player in the NFL since George Blanda, directed two second-half touchdown drives to lead the Atlanta Falcons to a 17-0 exhibition victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta. DeBerg, who hasn’t played a regular-season game since 1993, was 10 of 14 for 129 yards and a touchdown. The bad news for the Falcons was a knee injury to running back Byron Hanspard, which could keep him out for the season. . . . Defensive tackle Tim Bowens made an immediate impact in his first game of the year, and the Miami Dolphins completed their first undefeated preseason since 1981 by beating the Green Bay Packers, 21-7, at Miami. Bowens, who signed a five-year, $25-million contract Tuesday after ending a monthlong holdout, recovered a fumble on his third play of the exhibition season. Green Bay, playing its second road game in five days, finished 2-3. Brett Favre played three series for the Packers and completed four of seven passes for 69 yards. . . . Buffalo quarterbacks Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie led long first-half scoring drives as the Bills defeated the Washington Redskins, 27-17, at Orchard Park, N.Y. Johnson connected on a 52-yard pass to Eric Moulds and found tight end Lonnie Johnson for a five-yard touchdown reception that gave the Bills a 7-0 lead 6:13 into the game. Skip Hicks, a rookie from UCLA, scored on a 25-yard run for the Redskins. . . . Greg Hill scored St. Louis’ only touchdown in his return to Kansas City, giving the Rams a penalty-filled 10-6 victory over the Chiefs. The result probably helped nail down a roster spot for Hill, who was not re-signed by the Chiefs after last season and joined St. Louis earlier this month. Kansas City was flagged 17 times for 135 yards. St. Louis had 11 penalties for 97 yards. . . . The Baltimore Ravens limited the New York Giants to two field goals and got a game-winning, 23-yard touchdown run from Errict Rhett in the third quarter at East Rutherford, N.J., for a 14-6 victory to cap a 4-0 exhibition season. . . . Wayne Chrebet caught four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, Curtis Martin rushed for 53 yards, and third-string running backs Richie Anderson and Robert Farmer combined for 123 yards and a touchdown at Chicago, as the New York Jets scored a 24-7 victory over the Bears, who were booed off the field. . . . Seattle’s John Friesz passed two yards to rookie Bobby Shaw for a touchdown with 25 seconds left as the Seahawks came back to beat the San Francisco 49ers at Seattle. Todd Peterson kicked the extra point to give the Seahawks a 4-1 record for the preseason. San Francisco ended up at 2-3. . . . After their first-string offense was shut out in the first half, the New Orleans Saints managed a touchdown with their second string and a field goal with their third string at the Superdome for a 10-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their first exhibition victory.