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.