Pittsburgh (8-5) at Minnesota (8-5) Sunday 1:00 pm EST

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers would like to continue their success against NFC teams. The Minnesota Vikings seek to extend their six-game winning streak.

Two teams scrambling for a playoff berth meet in an interconference game on Sunday.

The Steelers have won their last six games against NFC teams, including a 21-9 victory over the Chicago Bears last week.

The win benefited the Vikings, who moved within a game of first-place Chicago in the NFC North after posting a 27-13 victory against St. Louis.

Pittsburgh's reign as AFC North champions appears to be coming to an end. A loss by the Steelers or a win by Cincinnati would give the division title to the Bengals.

But the Steelers are tied with Kansas City and San Diego for the second wild-card spot, one game behind Jacksonville.

Pittsburgh's streak against NFC teams started with wins over Philadelphia, the New York Giants, Dallas and Washington last season and victories over Green Bay and Chicago this season.

Dallas and Atlanta, one game behind Carolina.

Since Brad Johnson has replaced injured Daunte Culpepper as the starting quarterback, the Vikings are 6-0. But just one of those victories came against a team with a winning record - the New York Giants.

Johnson has a quarterback rating of 90.9 and has passed for 1,247 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions.

The Steelers snapped a three-game losing streak with their win over the Bears. Jerome Bettis pounded 101 of his team's 190 rushing yards against the vaunted Bears' defense. Minnesota is ranked 17th in the league against the run.

Willie Parker is Pittsburgh's leading rusher with 856 yards, but he fumbled twice in the loss to Cincinnati two weeks ago and produced just 68 yards on 21 carries against Chicago. Bettis gained 101 yards on 17 carries.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisbeger, who is 19-3 as a starter, will face a defense that has recorded 17 interceptions in a six-game winning streak. Five of those picks came last week against St. Louis rookie quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

"I think we're just jelling at the right time," said cornerback Brian Williams, who had two interceptions against St. Louis. "Everybody's just putting it together and figuring out what our defense is all about."

Safety Darren Sharper has perhaps been the NFL's best offseason free agent signing. After spending his first eight years with Green Bay, Sharper has eight interceptions for the Vikings, one behind league leader Deltha O'Neal of Cincinnati.

Vikings rookie defensive tackle C.J. Mosley, a sixth-round pick out of Missouri, has three sacks in his last three games.

Matchup to watch: Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who has 59 catches for 819 yards and 10 touchdowns, faces left cornerback Antoine Winfield.

Series: The Vikings lead, 8-6, but the Steelers won the last meeting, 21-16, in 2001.

Next week: Pittsburgh visits Cleveland, December 24 Minnesota visits Baltimore, December 25