At first, the move looked like a blunder. The Vikings started off by losing their first two games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (24–13) and the Cincinnati Bengals (37–8). They would win in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints (33–16), but then they would go on to lose their next two road games to the Atlanta Falcons (30–10) and the division rival Chicago Bears (28–3). The Vikings would win at home against fellow division rival Green Bay 23–20 by winning the same way the Packers did last season, which was a last-second field goal. However, the Vikings had little to celebrate the next week; not only did they lose to the Carolina Panthers 38–13 on the road, but they also lost star quarterback Daunte Culpepper for the season with a knee injury. Culpepper had thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns up to that point. At this point, the Vikings were 2–5.