Vikings Find Footing

Minnesota Coach Mike Tice said two futile games had robbed his offense of its swagger.

It took the Vikings 13 seconds to get it back Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

Daunte Culpepper threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns and the Vikings got back on track with a 33-16 victory over the mistake-prone Saints.

After New Orleans’ Aaron Stecker fumbled the opening kickoff, Culpepper connected with Travis Taylor for a 24-yard touchdown to get the Vikings rolling.

“We had to develop some type of rhythm, some type of attitude and some type of aggression on the offensive side of the ball,” Tice said. “It got us going.”

The Vikings (1-2) took advantage of two Saint turnovers deep in their end to take a 24-0 lead in the first half, but the Saints (1-2) made a game of it in the fourth quarter.

Deuce McAllister’s one-yard touchdown run with under 12 minutes to go made the score 24-16 before yet another mistake by New Orleans put the game out of reach.

On second and 17 from the Saint 37, Culpepper connected with Jermaine Wiggins on a 10-yard completion. But Saint defensive back Dwight Smith gave the Vikings a gift first down when he taunted Wiggins after tackling him.

That led to the third of four field goals by Paul Edinger, and an Aaron Brooks pass was intercepted by Antoine Winfield on the next possession to seal it.

The Saints, rendered nomads after Hurricane Katrina devastated their city and tore up the Superdome, were listless and sloppy again in the third straight road game of a season that essentially will be full of them.

They committed four turnovers and had 14 penalties, one of which negated an interception in Viking territory and another that took away a punt return for a touchdown by Donte Stallworth, derailing any chance of a comeback.

“We just had way too many penalties and turnovers,” Saint Coach Jim Haslett said. “We just didn’t have any opportunities to get close to them.”