NFL trade deadline winners and losers: Vikings go full dadcore with Kirk Cousins in Super Bowl quest

Teams with championship aspirations tooled up at the deadline. Most, but not all of them, have improved their chances

After what happened on Monday night, the Minnesota Vikings had to do this. In a dispiriting loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Vikings saw their tremendous defense go to waste, as Carson Wentz completed eight of 25 passes for 81 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 8.9. It was one of the worst quarterback performances in recent history, and it continued a run of recent QB futility for the Vikings, from JJ McCarthy to Kyler Murray to Wentz. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is out-scheming every other coach in the league right now with his laboratory of blitzes and coverages. But it's starting to matter less and less, because opposing offenses know that you can wait that defense out when there's no juice on the other side of the ball. The Vikings rank first in scoring defense (116 points allowed), but they're 27th in points scored (146).