Vikings Swaggering and Sniping

From finger-pointing to chest-thumping, Randy Moss is back, even if the Vikings’ high-powered offense isn’t.

After criticizing new offensive coordinator Ray Sherman after three mostly unproductive weeks, Moss broke free for two long touchdowns as Minnesota beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 21-14, Sunday.

“It was nice to get back in a groove again,” said Randall Cunningham, who was 26 for 34 for 296 yards and three touchdowns.

Cunningham got sandwiched by two defenders in the fourth quarter but missed only one play with what was diagnosed as a bruised throwing shoulder.

During the first quarter, the Vikings (2-2) looked like the scoring machine of last season as they got into the end zone on their first three possessions against the league’s top defense.

But for the Vikings failed to score in the remaining three quarters and needed a last-second defensive stop to end a two-game skid that had them sniping at each other and the coaching staff.

“When you put up 21 points in the first quarter, that’s exciting,” Moss said. “But when you have zeros all the rest of the quarters? Luckily, we came out with a victory and that’s all that counts.

“But we’re still missing that fire.”

At least they didn’t get burned by Trent Dilfer like they did by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers a week earlier.

The Buccaneers (2-2) failed twice to tie it in the final two minutes.

Corey Miller intercepted Dilfer’s fourth-and-one pass to Warrick Dunn at the Minnesota 10-yard line with 1:54 left. It was the Vikings’ first interception of the season.

Tampa Bay got the ball back with 1:24 left and drove to the Vikings 17. But Dilfer’s pass to Darnell McDonald was broken up by Robert Griffith in the end zone as time expired.

“I was just trying to defend the goal-line, man,” Griffith said in a not-so-subtle reference to Cris Carter.

Carter had blamed teammate Jimmy Hitchcock for the Vikings’ last-second loss at Green Bay, saying Hitchcock should have defended the end zone and not the first down.

“I had no doubt we were going to score,” Dilfer said. “Shows you how much I know.”