ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Perhaps Marshall Faulk and Robert Smith will excuse fans who don't care if they show up for Sunday's playoff game. Many folks in the stands wouldn't mind seeing Faulk's St.Louis Rams and Smith's Minnesota Vikings throwing the ball all over the Trans World Dome.

Of course, Faulk and Smith aren't exactly slouches as receivers. Their primary job, though, is providing a running attack.

And when the wideouts are named Carter, Moss and Bruce, well, if the ball spends as much time in the air as the blimp, there won't be many complaints.

"Whenever you have weapons like they have, you want to keep them off the field, and I imagine they feel the same way," said Minnesota quarterback Jeff George, who will be winging it for the Vikings (11-6). "They want to keep our offense off the field, as well. It's going to be a great matchup. This is probably the game that everybody's wanting to see."

Especially if Cris Carter, Randy Moss and Isaac Bruce are the focal points. Not to mention Minnesota's Jake Reed and St. Louis' Az-Zahir Hakim and Torry Holt in supporting roles.

Bruce wasn't plagued by hamstring problems this season, and his return to full health led to a return to the top of the receiving charts. He had 77 catches for 1,165 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 15.1 per receptions.

"To me, Isaac Bruce is the best total receiver in the NFL," Rams coach Dick Vermeil said Thursday. "I've talked to people who coached him in the Pro Bowl who said they've never seen anything like him. There's more in Isaac Bruce than we've seen this year.

Nobody can go into and come out of a break with more speed and acceleration than Isaac. Nobody. You'd better account for him."

And for the other Rams receivers. Holt, a rookie, was a complementary receiver, yet had 52 catches for a 15.2 average and six scores. Hakim averaged a phenomenal 18.8 yards, and eight of his 36 catches were for touchdowns.

Then, of course, there is the versatile Faulk. All he did in winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors was become the second 1,000-yard rusher-receiver in NFL history, running for 1,381 yards and gaining 1,048 in the air. His total yardage of 2,429 broke Barry Sanders' NFL record.

Finally, Kurt Warner, the league's MVP, became the only quarterback not named Dan Marino to throw for at least 40 touchdowns. He had 41, a league-leading 109.2 rating, 4,353 yards and only 13 interceptions.

"We're going to try to attack some problems and hopefully come up with some big plays," Hakim said. "Definitely, with our type of offense, I think any team is exploitable."

The Vikings are taking a similar view in seeking to break through the Rams' home dominance (8-0 this season). They believe their arsenal is just as impressive.

"I think it's a unique matchup. I don't think you'll be in a game where you have better skilled people," Carter said. "If you look at Marshall and look at Robert, look at Kurt, look at Jeff, look at Isaac, myself, Randy, I don't think that you'll see that type of talent on the football field -- not any better.

"You're not going to see any better talent on the football field than what we have, both teams."

Carter knows what he's talking about. The Rams led the league with 526 points in going 13-3, the NFC's best record. While the Vikings didn't come close to their '98 scoring pace, they still managed 399.

Carter exceeded Bruce's touchdown catches by one and had 90 receptions for 1,241 yards. He did some of it despite nagging injuries.

Smith had a big game vs. Dallas last Sunday, rushing 28 times for 140 yards. He's averaged 111 yards a game for his last five outings, and a repeat of such numbers could swing matters in Minnesota's favor.

But if it is a Kurt Warner-Jeff George shootout, don't expect to hear many requests for refunds.

MINNESOTA Season schedule and results

ST. LOUIS Season schedule and results

September 12 @Atlanta W 17-14 September 19 Oakland L 17-22 September 26 @Green Bay L 20-23 October 3 Tampa Bay W 21-14 October 10 Chicago L 22-24 October 17 @Detroit L 23-25 October 24 San Francisco W 40-16 October 31 @Denver W 23-20 November 8 Dallas W 27-17 November 14 @Chicago W 27-24 November 28 San Diego W 35-27 December 6 @Tampa Bay L 17-24 December 12 @Kansas City L 28-31 December 20 Green Bay W 24-20 December 26 @NY Giants W 34-17 January 2 Detroit W 24-17 January 9 Dallas W 27-10 January 16 @St. Louis 12:35pm ET

September 12 Baltimore W 27-10 September 26 Atlanta W 35-7 October 3 @Cincinnati W 38-10 October 10 San Francisco W 42-20 October 17 @Atlanta W 41-13 October 24 Cleveland W 34-3 October 31 @Tennessee L 21-24 November 7 @Detroit L 27-31 November 14 Carolina W 35-10 November 21 @San Francisco W 23-7 November 28 New Orleans W 43-12 December 5 @Carolina W 34-21 December 12 @New Orleans W 30-14 December 19 NY Giants W 31-10 December 26 Chicago W 34-12 January 2 @Philadelphia L 31-38 January 16 Minnesota 12:35pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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