There is a tendency, in Minnesota, to presume doom for our teams. In fact, “Presume doom” might be the state’s sporting motto, or at least a popular fantasy football team name.
The Vikings became the latest franchise to encourage this mentality with their season-opening loss to Tampa Bay, which followed the failed contract negotiations with star receiver Justin Jefferson.
The Vikings lost a should-win game that at least felt, in the moment, like a must-win game, and now must fly to Philadelphia to play the home opener for the defending NFC champs while facing the possibility of an 0-2 start with Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes and the powerhouse 49ers looming.
Presume doom? That might prove to have been the right approach, but there are a touchdown’s worth of reasons to avoid overreacting to one bad game, or even one brutal week.
1. Everybody loses
This might sound trite, but it is true. In just the first 16 games of the NFL season, the defending champion Chiefs lost at home to the Lions, Bengals superstar Joe Burrow produced just 82 yards and three points in a loss to the Browns, the Bills lost to Zach Wilson, and the Rams won at Seattle without star receiver Cooper Kupp.
The two star quarterbacks who indeed loom — Herbert and Mahomes, in Weeks 3 and 5 — lost their openers. The Vikings were disappointing last Sunday in Week 1, but they are in good company.
2. Bucs stopped here
Tampa Bay was not considered a strong team, but they have players who recently won a Super Bowl on their roster, and a head coach and former defensive coordinator in Todd Bowles who has given other good offenses trouble over the years.
3. Jefferson didn’t blink
Not signing Jefferson might prove to be a major mistake, but Jefferson has been a professional regardless of the status of his negotiations. Unlike tight end T.J. Hockenson, who developed mysterious ear and back ailments while negotiating, Jefferson practiced and played hard throughout camp, and was typically productive and competitive Sunday, even leveling Bucs safety Christian Izien with a devastating hit on an interception return.
Someone worrying about their long-term physical and financial health doesn’t make that play.
4. Addition by Addison
Rookie receiver Jordan Addison played just 36 of the Vikings’ 64 offensive snaps, yet caught four of six targets for 61 yards and a touchdown. He was the only Viking other than Jefferson with more than 35 yards receiving. In Jefferson’s NFL debut, he caught two of three targets for 26 yards and no scores. Addison looks like he’s on his way to becoming the first impact draft pick of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s regime.
5. Oppositional Defiant Disorder
A Minnesota columnist once diagnosed Vikings star Randy Moss with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. In reality, almost every NFL player shares a version of this mentality. NFL players make a living by lining up against remarkable and sometimes violent athletes, and that’s one reason why there are so many upsets. That “lousy” team you pick to lose is filled with great athletes who like proving people wrong.
6. Silly season
While there are upsets throughout every NFL season, early-season games generally prove to be the least predictable. We don’t really know what any of these teams will look like in real competition, and coaches spend seven months dissecting their early-season opponents.
Philadelphia deserves to be a clear favorite Thursday. The Eagles have a superior roster, a quarterback who should again be an MVP candidate, a distinct home-field advantage, and the advantage of playing at home on a short week.
Their powerhouse defensive front should dominate the weak interior of the Vikings’ offensive line, and veteran cornerback Darius Slay helped limit Jefferson to 48 receiving yards while intercepting two passes last week in the Eagles’ 24-7 Week 2 victory in Philadelphia.
But stranger things have happened than a team coming off a 13-victory season winning a difficult game or surviving early-season losses.
Stranger things happened just this weekend.