Later today, the Vikings will kick off the 2016 regular season against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. The season hadn’t started before they’d already lost their rising star quarterback for the year, traded away a first round pick in the 2017 draft, and just generally been historically Viking-like … at least according to Jim Souhan at the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

On my first assignment covering the NFL, I listened to new Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gleefully discuss replacing legend Tom Landry with a brash college coach named Jimmy Johnson while promising to oversee every aspect of the Cowboys’ organization “from socks and jocks.”

Later that year in Dallas, Buddy Ryan made fun of Johnson’s hair and put out an unofficial bounty on the Cowboys kicker, and then Johnson traded Herschel Walker to Minnesota for a dozen players and draft picks and 5,000 lakes.

Then, I left Dallas for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and found out that the Cowboys could not match the masters of American sports drama. The Minnesota Vikings are the kings of interesting.

Two weeks ago, the Vikings were inspiring justified optimism while demonstrating organizational stability and unveiling a new stadium that reminds everyone within eyesight of downtown Minneapolis that the NFL dominates American sports.

Then Teddy Bridgewater blew out his knee while making a throw during a practice and without getting hit, and the Vikings traded a first-round draft pick and another high pick for another team’s starting quarterback.

The events were shocking only if you expect normalcy.

Remember, this is a franchise that gave you the Love Boat, the Original Whizzinator, a kicker being accused and acquitted of drug smuggling charges, a coach threatening to sue his owners, Randy Moss’ Book of Memorable Memes, Moss’ Lambeau goalpost butt rub, a coach scandalized for scalping Super Bowl tickets, Brad Childress’ quarterback wars, helicopters circling above Brett Favre’s arrival, excruciating NFC title game losses, the Bounty on Brett, Joe Webb starting a playoff game, Adrian Peterson breaking records and wielding switches and Percy Harvin throwing a weight at a coach.

There are NFL teams that have been relentlessly uninteresting, like the Titans, and those that have attracted interest by winning, like the Packers and Patriots. The Vikings may stand alone when it comes to attracting interest while not winning it all.

The 27-23 result won’t surprise anyone who saw any Viking games earlier this season, although the score was closer than you (or the bookies) might have expected. With so many key players missing in Minnesota’s secondary, the Cowboys were supposed to keep the scoreboard numbers spinning, but the game was close right down to the final drive. It’s that final drive — where the Vikings couldn’t force a stop — that has been the signature of this year’s team.

With yesterday’s loss, the Vikings have now matched the worst start to a season in franchise history (1-7 was also the 1961 team’s opening record) — and will host Washington on Thursday night for an attempt to make it their worst all-time start. Adrian Peterson had his best performance in over a month, rushing for 140 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries. Christian Ponder’s last-gasp Hail Mary fell short, but his stats were respectable: 25 of 37 for 236 yards, one touchdown and one interception (82.7 QB rating) and a rushing TD of his own. Kicker Blair Walsh had his first career missed extra point after Peterson’s TD run, but the single point didn’t make any difference in the final result. It may have influenced the coaching decision to punt rather than attempting a 54-yard field goal later in the game (post-game, Leslie Frazier said that Walsh’s hamstring injury was the actual reason for not trying the long FG).

Over the course of the game, the Vikings lost even more players to injury, with right guard Phil Loadholt suffering a concussion, tight end Kyle Rudolph injuring his ankle on his touchdown reception, nose tackle Letroy Guion had a shoulder injury, and cornerback Xavier Rhodes being injured in a collision with linebacker Chad Greenway. Rhodes attempted to return to the game, but left after just one play.

At The Viking Age, Dan Zinski says this “has become a nightmare sort of season”:

For a minute it looked like the Vikings might pull off a stunning, draft-position-ruining upset over the Cowboys. The Vikings were trailing 20-17 early in the fourth when Adrian Peterson went into full-on beast mode, ripping off a 52-yard run to put Minnesota in scoring range, then hitting paydirt on an absolutely filthy tackler-dragging monster of an effort. By force of Peterson’s will alone the Vikes took a 23-20 lead, then watched their kicker Blair Walsh miss the extra point to keep the Cowboys within a field goal.

But momentum quickly swung back in the Vikings’ favor when on the ensuing Cowboys possession A.J. Jefferson picked off Tony Romo on a sideline pass. The Vikes had a chance to ice the game away there but came up short and elected to punt rather than have Blair Walsh try a 54-yard field goal. Was this the right move? Walsh has hit plenty of 50-plus yarders in his young career, but he’s also had hamstring problems, and he had just missed a PAT wide right. Leslie Frazier did not have faith in his young kicker to boot it through and rather than give the Cowboys good field position he elected to pin them.

In the end it wouldn’t matter. The Cowboys got the ball back with plenty of time and did what you were almost certain they would. Tony Romo worked the ball rather easily down the field against the Vikings’ defense and the Cowboys were finally able to stick it in when Romo hit Dwayne Harris on a 7-yard TD pass. The Vikes got the ball back in decent field position after a short kickoff but were unable to get into position and had to settle for a Christian Ponder final-second hail mary that fell well short.

The Daily Norseman‘s Eric Thompson says the Vikings played their best game of the season yesterday:

I know the headline sounds like it was something from The Onion Sports or Sports Pickle, but it’s sadly true.

When you think about it, Sunday’s game against the Cowboys was the best of both worlds for the two major camps of Vikings fans. On one hand, you have the #TankForTeddy, #MissionMariota, #SuckForTheDuck, and #JohhnyFootballGoesToMinnesota fans that know the season is already lost and don’t want any pesky wins screwing up our 2014 draft position. They were satisfied because the Vikings lost again. On the other hand you have the fans that can’t stand the team laying down and getting blown out every week. They were satisfied because the Vikings actually played pretty well against a division leader on the road.

I get that many Vikings fans that don’t mind the losses since it could eventually lead to a better future for the team: better draft picks, new coaches, an overhaul of a largely inept roster. But you guys realize that we’re only halfway through the season, right? Are you sure that you can endure eight more weeks of this crap? Because I certainly wouldn’t mind a win or two sprinkled in with all the misery.

In today’s Star Tribune, Jim Souhan makes a strong case for the Vikings to deliberately tank the rest of the 2013 season:

Let’s give the Vikings the benefit of the doubt, and assume they are trying to lose.

There is no reason to play Christian Ponder in a tackle football game unless you’re aggressively pursuing the first pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

While Vikings fans spend today watching Ponder run for 5 yards on third-and-10, remember that this, too, shall pass, even if the Vikings can’t.

Starting 1-6 should prompt Vikings management to orchestrate the first one-win season in franchise history.

It’s important to set goals.

Losing big doesn’t guarantee future success, but it gives an intelligent management team a chance. That’s been proved in every sport, every decade, and the best example of losing to win might belong to the franchise the Vikings will face today in Texas.

In 1989, Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys and hired Jimmy Johnson as his coach. Texans were appalled at Jones’ glib firing of the legendary Tom Landry, and at Jones’ clownish demeanor. Jones actually said he would be in charge of all phases of football from “socks to jocks,” even though Jones’ football experience was limited to playing in college and watching on television.

The JJs played up their chances of winning immediately. Then Johnson got halfway through his first preseason game and ditched all immediate ambition.

He tanked his first season, trading away his only name player, Herschel Walker, before finishing 1-15. He used prime draft slots and the bounty from the Walker deal to build a roster that won three Super Bowls and might have won more if Jones hadn’t fired him.

If the Cowboys had tried to contend in 1989, they might not have considered trading Walker, and wouldn’t have drafted near the top of each round. Inept play and intelligent management led to championships.

An interesting theory, but I really doubt that the Vikings are deliberately failing (although it would explain a few things like the quarterback controversy), and as with any conspiracy theory it’s hard to believe that such a design wouldn’t be leaked by at least a few disgruntled players and/or coaches (since the coaching staff is most likely to be negatively impacted by a terrible season).

I’d love to see the Vikings draft a genuine franchise quarterback next year, but I don’t want the team to quit playing this year.

The game was not being broadcast in my area, so all the information I had was via Twitter updates.

Vikings’ scratches for tonight’s game were Asher Allen (CB), Toby Gerhart (RB), Kenny Onatolu (LB), Ross Homan (LB), Heath Farwell (LB), Visanthe Shiancoe (TE), and Kevin Williams (DT). No surprises in any of those names.

This was the first start for Anthony Herrera, who suffered a torn ACL late last season. I hope he gets back into his game quickly, as the offensive line has been an area of concern even before Bryant McKinnie was released. Letroy Guion took the first team snaps for Kevin Williams, who is suffering from a lingering foot issue (plantar fasciitis).

Some positions are still tightly contested, including two (or three) wide receiver slots (take your pick of Camarillo, Aromashodu, Arceneaux, Iglesias, and Jaymar Johnson), strong safety (Tyrell Johnson, Jamarca Sanford, and Mistral Raymond), and dime cornerback (Asher Allen, Marcus Sherels, and Tony Carter). If any of them distinguish themselves tonight, it’ll be a big step towards making the 53-man roster.

Among the folks not able to attend the game: Zygi Wilf, the majority owner of the team. He lives in New Jersey and was prevented from getting to the game by Hurricane Irene (it’s only the second home game he’s missed since purchasing the team in 2006).

The first score of the game was a 49-yard pass from Donovan McNabb to Bernard Berrian for a TD. Dallas defender Abram Elam nearly had the pick, but the ball went through his hands.

On the Cowboys’ next series, there was a scary moment for Vikings fans as starting cornerback Antoine Winfield went down after hitting Jason Witten. Winfield did not return to the field, but he described the injury as a “stinger”. Dallas scored a field goal on the drive, putting the score at 7-3 Vikings.

The Cowboys went ahead on a blocked field goal attempt when Kyle Rudolph missed a block on Orlando Scandrick. The ball was picked up and run in for the score by Alan Ball. 10-7 Cowboys.

On the following series, McNabb’s pass to Kleinsasser was tipped by defensive end Jason Hatcher and intercepted by safety Gerald Sensabaugh. Dallas turned that into a 17-7 lead on a TD by Felix Jones, powering through Tyrell Johnson and Cedric Griffin. (Tom Pelissero thought that Johnson may have lost his chance to stay with the team on a missed interception and poor tackling on the TD run.)

Cord Parks, who I was impressed with in the first two preseason games, has a nice return on the kick-off, putting the Vikings offence back in business on the Dallas 42-yard line. Unfortunately, Percy Harvin dropped a pass on third down, forcing a Ryan Longwell field goal to move the score to 17-10.

Christian Ballard got a sack inside the two-minute warning, to force a Dallas punt (his second sack in three games). At the half, the score was still 17-10 for Dallas.

The Vikings’ first team stayed in the game for one series, then gave way to the second team, led by Joe Webb. Dallas added a field goal on the following series. Webb completed a 43-yard pass to Manny Arceneaux, then followed that up with a rushing TD to move the score to 20-17.

Christian Ponder came in to the game with just over five minutes left to play, then had a bad exchange with center Brandon Fusco. Dallas moved the score to 23-17 on the next series, with a field goal by Dan Bailey.

That ended up being the final score. Significant stats were Donovan McNabb’s 12 of 18 passes for 164 yards, with one TD and one INT, Bernard Berrian with two passes for 64 yards (and a TD), and Adrian Peterson with 11 carries for 69 yards.

Minnesota will host the Dallas Cowboys today in a rematch of their playoff meeting earlier this year. At that time, both teams were expected to challenge for the SuperBowl again this season. Both teams, however, are seriously underperforming:

AHWOOGA! AHWOOGA!
Dallas (1-3), Minnesota (1-3)
The bomb shelter alarms have already sounded for two presumed playoff contenders, and most football fans are loving it. Even more exciting, the teams play each this Sunday in the Failure Bowl. Or the Freakout Bowl. Or the Lehmann Brothers Bowl of Shame presented by Bear Stearns. Anyway, there’s a decent chance someone gets fired afterward. Place your wagers!

Chip Scoggins thinks the real reason for both teams’ lousy record is the turnover ratio:

Opinions vary on the reasons behind the disappointing starts for both teams, but talent is certainly not the issue. Their rosters are littered with Pro Bowl players. That makes the situation even more frustrating.

“Dallas is full of talent [so] I don’t think they thought they’d be 1-3,” Vikings nose tackle Pat Williams said. “We’re full of talent and I for sure never thought we’d be 1-3. But that’s the cards that are dealt. We have to get out of this hole ourselves. We can’t blame nobody but ourselves.”

If you’re looking for a common dominator, it’s turnover margin. Every coach points to that statistic as a telltale sign of a team’s success, and both the Vikings and Cowboys rank among the league’s worst in this area.

The Vikings are tied for 30th at minus-6; Dallas is No. 27 at minus-4. The teams have combined for only eight takeaways compared with 18 turnovers.