Opening a new stadium did not provide enough drama for the Minnesota Vikings. They needed to make sure that anyone new to Vikingdom fully appreciated what it means to follow their team.
So in the past few weeks they lost a franchise quarterback, traded for a franchise quarterback, won a game with a journeyman, beat their primary rivals while unveiling their new stadium in prime time, lost their franchise running back, had another first-round pick undergo surgery, placed another first-round pick on injured reserve, and flew to a city where the home team always wins and there are protests in the streets.
The kids call this "Because Vikings," or "Going Full Vikings," but they were doing this long before sentence fragments became cool.
In three weeks the Vikings lost four first-round draft picks to injury — Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson, Matt Kalil and Sharrif Floyd. Three of those players play offense, already the weak link at Winter Park.
The Vikings did not score an offensive touchdown in their Week 1 victory at Tennessee. Only the immediate symbiosis between Sam Bradford and Stefon Diggs allowed them to reach 17 points in a victory over Green Bay at home.
A season after ranking 29th in total offense, the Vikings rank 28th in total offense, measured by yards gained.
Their running game was abysmal even with a healthy Peterson. Their offensive line is a mess, again. Their receiving corps has yet to produce a proven No. 2 to the fast-rising Diggs. And if Diggs hadn't made big plays in the first two games it's unlikely that anyone else would have made them instead.
The Vikings' lack of star power, production and depth on offense would sound prohibitive if not for the fact that this team was never supposed to set scoring records, or even rank near the top of the league in offense.