Teams With Best Records Are Headliners in Conference Title Games

It begins with overwhelming noise, the full-volume music, the relentless pounding drums, cavemen blowing horns, the towel-waving crowd, and then the players begin to emerge from smoke, running from a giant inflatable purple-and-yellow ship, led by gold-clad cheerleaders, waving flags, a mascot on a snowmobile and a hairy Viking on a motorcycle.

The only thing lacking in the madcap pageantry was a human sacrifice for the Viking gods--which came later Sunday in the form of the Arizona Cardinals.

Minnesota roasted the Cardinals, 41-21, in front of a playoff crowd of 63,760 in the Metrodome. They ran out to a 17-0 lead with 203 yards in offense before Arizona ran its first offensive play for positive yardage four minutes into the second quarter.

“We have never been in a place this loud,” Arizona quarterback Jake Plummer said. “We should be mad for awhile because we had the opportunity to do something special, but a month from now when I am out teeing off, I will look back and say, ‘Wow, we did have a pretty good year.’ ”

The Cardinals won their first playoff game since 1947 a week ago in Dallas, but Minnesota came into this game having scored 28 more touchdowns than Arizona, and offense against offense, it was no contest.

“I don’t think anybody in this room can say they have ever been on a better offensive team,” said Leroy Hoard, who scored three touchdowns for the Vikings. “If they say they have, they might not be telling the truth.”

The local newspaper here passed out 65,000 Purple Pride towels, which were white. Had they been given to Arizona, the Cardinals would not have been blamed early on for waving them in surrender.

The Cardinals could not contend with the noise, and were penalized five times for false starts and lost a fumble on a center exchange because Plummer wasn’t ready to get the ball. Plummer, saying later he could have used the calming influence of offensive coordinator Marc Trestman but couldn’t hear him, completed his first two passes of the day to Robert Griffith, who plays safety for Minnesota.

“I’ve been saying ever since I’ve been in Arizona, that’s what the home-field advantage is,” said Cardinal Coach Vince Tobin, “The ability of a crowd to affect the outcome of a game, and this crowd did.”

The Vikings, 9-0 under their canopy and 16-1 overall, will test the eardrums of the Falcons (15-2) in next Sunday’s NFC championship game, assuring for the first time that a team playing its home games under a dome will play in the Super Bowl.

“Atlanta is used to crowd noise and playing on the turf, but I don’t think they are used to what the Metrodome brings to the NFL,” said Viking wide receiver Randy Moss, who caught a touchdown pass for eighth consecutive game. “I was sitting beside Cris [Carter] and he couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t hear him.”

The Vikings, who haven’t been to a Super Bowl since Oakland had a good football team, losing to the Raiders in Super Bowl XI, look like a team that doesn’t need a defense.

“If we let down we’re going to lose games,” Minnesota defensive lineman Jerry Ball said. “Look at what happened in Tampa Bay.”

The Vikings allowed 27 points in Tampa Bay and lost their only game of the season.

“We gave up 21 against Arizona and that’s too much,” Ball said. “Thirteen--that’s the number, and we should be all right.”

The Vikings, who never scored fewer than 24 points this season and set an NFL record for most points scored, topped the 40-point mark for the fifth time. And while known for its passing game, Minnesota went to the ground to punish Arizona, getting 124 rushing yards from Robert Smith.

“We can hurt you in so many ways,” said Hoard, who scored on runs of one and six yards, while also getting a touchdown on a 16-yard pass play. “Now it’s time to bring on Atlanta’s ‘Dirty Birds.’ Those guys have a lot of confidence and didn’t get this far worrying about anyone else, but that’s kind of how we do things, too.”

The Vikings were successful on 73% of their third-down conversions, rolled up 416 yards in offense and did not fumble. They had a ball intercepted in the end zone, roughed Plummer on fourth down allowing Arizona another opportunity to score its first touchdown and settled for two short Gary Anderson field goals rather than really piling it on.

“I don’t think we were really on today,” Minnesota quarterback Randall Cunningham said. “We didn’t spread the ball around enough. . . . It’s not time to party yet. There’s still business to conduct.”

The Cardinal defense, primed to slow down the Viking passing attack, matched cornerback Aeneas Williams on Moss. Williams, who stopped Michael Irvin’s streak of 117 consecutive games with a catch earlier this season, limited Moss to four catches for 73 yards. Moss’ two-yard touchdown reception came against safety Tommy Bennett on one of the few plays that Williams set him free.

“I learned a lot out there,” Moss said, crediting Williams and Washington’s Darrell Green as the two best defenders he’s faced. “Maybe I can carry it over to next week.”

Both Moss and Carter had long catches of 45 yards, but the Vikings’ long-range passing game wasn’t as explosive as it has been at times this season. Cunningham, however, completed 17 of 27 passes for 236 yards with touchdown passes to Moss, Hoard and tight end Andrew Glover, good enough to put the Vikings in their first NFC championship game since losing to Washington in January 1988.

“It’s a great accomplishment to get to the NFC championship game,” said Carter, who had five catches for 82 yards. “But we’re looking for more--we think this is our year.”

Sunday ‘s Championship Games

NFC

Atlanta (15-2) at Minnesota (16-1)

9:30 a.m.

TV: Channel 11

Radio: KNX (1070), XTRA (690)

* NEW IDEAS: Minnesota offensive coordinator Brian Billick showcased his creativity for his potential new employers by using David Palmer at quarterback. Page 7

* FIRST LOOK, Page 7

*

AFC

New York Jets (13-4) at Denver (15-2)

1 p.m.

TV: Channel 2

Radio: KNX (1070), XTRA (690)

* TOUGH DAY AHEAD: The New York Jets will play the Denver Broncos to try to win a trip to the Super Bowl, and everyone on the Jet squad knows it won’t be easy. Page 6

* FIRST LOOK, Page 6