You Can Score This One for Vikings’ Anderson

About the time Minnesota’s Gary Anderson let go his dream of becoming the NFL’s career scoring leader in front of friends and family at the Metrodome, his teammates revived it for him.

The Vikings, who trailed by 11 points early in the fourth quarter Sunday at Minneapolis, needed an extra point for the lead and a 21-yard field goal from Anderson for security in a 31-27 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

That gave Anderson 11 points for the game, enough to break George Blanda’s record 2,002 points by two.

“It couldn’t have happened in a more special way,” Anderson said. “To get a chance to kick a field goal that way in front of the home crowd, in that kind of a setting, I couldn’t have asked for a better script myself.”

The Vikings went for a two-point conversion pass to Moe Williams as they pulled to 24-21 after an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter. And when the Vikings fell behind, 27-21, in the fourth quarter, Anderson doubted they would call on him again. He was nearly right.

But Anderson’s extra point after Randy Moss’ 39-yard touchdown catch gave the Vikings a 28-27 lead. His 21-yard field broke the record.

“I wish every kid in America could experience what I’ve felt the last few years,” said Anderson, a native of South Africa. “I don’t think any of the others rank with this one, just the way that it happened.

“It’s the culmination of a lot of guys who have helped me score 2,004 points. I’m the beneficiary of a lot of guys.”

Anderson also kicked a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 20-yarder on the final play of the first half.

BACK IS TO THE WALL

The Cowboys didn’t have to pass much in Sunday’s 48-7 victory over Arizona because the run was working. It might have been a good thing, too, because the herniated disk that has been bothering quarterback Troy Aikman all season was so painful that he needed an injection before kickoff.

“I tried to get it as loose as I could,” said Aikman, who kept his left hand on his lower back throughout a postgame news conference. “It got stiff again when I came out.”

The 33-year-old Aikman, who came into the game as the NFL’s lowest-rated quarterback, admitted during the week that he’s not as good as he used to be and said he expected to be booed during pregame introductions.

Instead, he was greeted with loud applause and there were never any catcalls, not even when he got off to an 0-for-four start.

The winning margin was Dallas’ biggest since a 51-7 victory over Seattle on Nov. 27, 1980. Arizona hadn’t been beaten this badly since falling, 52-10, to Philadelphia on Nov. 8, 1981.

HE LEFT HIS HEART. . .

It’s too bad George Seifert and the Carolina Panthers can’t face the San Francisco 49ers every week. If they could, they might not ever lose.

The 34-16 win gave Carolina (3-4) a season sweep over the 49ers and improved Seifert to 4-0 against his former team. The Panthers beat the 49ers, 38-22, in Week 2.

“George knows how to make a game plan against them,” said Carolina linebacker Lee Woodall, who played six years for the 49ers. “They are still running the same system they ran under him, and he owns it. The first thing he said to us on Wednesday was ‘We’ve got a good game plan, let’s go get them.’ ”

Quarterback Steve Beuerlein agreed: “Coach Seifert and his knowledge of that organization, he always seems to understand exactly what they are doing. And he proves it through the game plans he gives us.”

PREDICTION: PAIN

Bear quarterback Cade McNown left Sunday’s game at Philadelphia after separating his throwing shoulder in the second quarter. McNown was driven hard into the turf by linebacker Mike Caldwell after a one-yard scramble. The quarterback did not return.

“A lot of it has to do with how hard the surface is,” McNown said about the artificial turf at Veterans Stadium.

“It’s like concrete. There’s no give at all. The only thing that gave was my shoulder.”

Coincidentally, before the game NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue came out in support of a new stadium for the Eagles.

Tagliabue, who was at Veterans Stadium for a charity event, expressed surprise that a stadium deal was not already completed.

“The package that [Eagles’ owner] Jeffrey Lurie has put forward is the strongest and best offer that any owner ever has,” Tagliabue said. “If you look at other offers nationally, this one is a no-brainer.”

Tagliabue stressed that the depressed state of Veterans Stadium is a concern.

“When I think of the Vet, I think of the issues that we have had to deal with, such as the quality of the field and the poor quality of the rug,” he said. “I’m of the view that the plan being offered by Jeffrey Lurie is a good one and if anyone were to take a look at it, it will be approved and moved forward,” he said.

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--Compiled by HOUSTON MITCHELL