Ultra-competitive NFL means added emphasis on trades during season

The urge to make moves ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline had to be stronger than any other season.

First, the Rams last season essentially bought the most recent Lombardi Trophy with future draft picks. Von Miller, Jalen Ramsey and Dante Fowler were among the stars they collected at or near recent trade deadlines before winning the Super Bowl.

Secondly, a league that already seemed as perfectly balanced as possible heading into this season is yet again setting records for its parity.

Seventy-one games have been decided by one score. That's an NFL record through eight games that Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell referred to on Monday, a day after his team won its fifth straight one-score game, 34-26 over Arizona.

"We're still looking for ultimate consistency across the board," he said. "You're seeing that each and every game in this league is going to come down to a few plays here and there that really are the difference between it being those one-score games or maybe having the chance to put away some of our opponents [earlier]."

A day later, O'Connell and the Vikings beefed up a beat-up tight end room that already was lacking to begin with when they traded with Detroit for former top-10 draft pick T.J. Hockenson, a pass-catching tight end who will add yet another weapon to a potent offense.

The move helps the Vikings keep pace with other moves involving former first-round picks that were made around the league before the trade deadline. Moves like the 49ers adding running back Christian McCaffrey, the Eagles picking up edge rusher Robert Quinn and the Ravens getting linebacker Roquan Smith.

Meanwhile, the Vikings hope their newfound ability to find ways to win close games continues. A year after they went 2-5 in one-score games, the Vikings are 5-0 in one-score games with a first-year coach.

Among the current top seven teams in each conference, only the Giants have won more one-score games. They're 6-1 in such games, which explains why Brian Daboll is a coach of the year candidate with an average point differential of minus-0.8 per game.

The Eagles are 3-0 in one-score games. They're 7-0 overall as the league's only undefeated team, but even as the cream of the NFC they've still needed one-score nailbiters to beat three losing teams — Detroit, Jacksonville and Arizona — that are a combined 6-17.

The Cowboys are 2-0 in one-score games, joining the Vikings and Eagles as the only teams currently among the top seven in each conference not to lose a one-score game.

In the AFC, the Titans have climbed to the No. 2 seed by going 4-1 in one-score games. The current No. 4 seed, Baltimore, dropped its only three losses — to Miami, Buffalo and the Giants — by a total of 11 points after leading in all three games.

Meanwhile, four of Miami's five wins, three of the Chargers' four wins and three of the Jets' five wins have been by one score.

In other words, enjoy the one-score ride heading to Washington, where the Commanders are 4-4 and have won three straight one-score games by a total of eight points. Former Vikings quarterback Taylor Heinicke has won the last two by a total of three points.

Heinicke has something special about him. But so does O'Connell at this point. No Vikings coach had won six of his first seven games until O'Connell came along. Jerry Burns and Denny Green had been the best at 5-2 followed by Brad Childress (4-3), Leslie Frazier (3-4), Mike Zimmer and Les Steckel (2-5), Bud Grant (1-5-1), and Norm Van Brocklin and Mike Tice (1-6).

Mixing in a nice, needed boost at the trade deadline with this team's ability to win close games could make O'Connell's first season even more memorable for how it ends.