American football: Rampant Vikings

THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS became the highest-scoring team in NFL history on Saturday. They needed 12 points to break the single-season scoring record held by the 1983 Washington Redskins and their 26-12 defeat of the Tennessee Oilers in Nashville took them to 556 points.

The victory meant they finished the season at 15-1, only third team to do so. Both the others - the San Francisco 49ers, in 1984, and the Chicago Bears, the following year - won the Super Bowl that season. Minnesota's lone loss was at Tampa Bay, 27-24.

Minnesota's Gary Anderson completed the NFL's first perfect season for a kicker with 35 successful field goals and 59 extra points. His points total of 164 was a record tally for a kicker, beating Mark Moseley's 161 for the '83 Redskins.