When the schedule is loaded with tough games at the start of the schedule, it sends a message to the team that it must be ready to compete hard as the season gets

So it would have been reasonable for outside observers to cringe at Sam Darnold's wild flip of the ball toward running back Aaron Jones Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, not only because it threatened to turn a busted play into a massive turnover,

The Minnesota Vikings have not had to rebuild this roster completely; rather, they have established leaders like Harrison Phillips, who, in turn, lift the whole roster. They really have embraced