Fresh off his first game with the Minnesota Vikings in more than five years, Randy Moss dusted off his #84 purple and yellow jersey just in time to catch Brett Favre’s 500th career touchdown pass.

As Randy said in his opening press conference with the Vikings, “To all the Viking fans coming to the Metrodome, pull your 84 jerseys out. It’s going to be a fun ride.”

Moss’s first game with the Vikings came against his ex-AFC rival New York Jets on none other than the biggest stage in football: Monday Night Football. Moss’s arrival and partnership with his new quarterback, an ex-rival in his own right, overshadowed Brett Favre’s homecoming to New York.

Favre played for the Jets in 2008 after a bitter separation with the Green Bay Packers and was traded to the Vikings after only one season after he led the Jets to a disappointing 1-4 finish after an 8-3 start to miss the playoffs.

However, the bigger story on Monday night was the acquisition of Moss by the Vikings.

Before Moss’s arrival, Vikings receivers had only 27 catches for a mere 266 yards in three games, while Brett Favre struggled, throwing only two touchdowns to six interceptions.

After a mediocre 1-2 start to the season, the Vikings determined that with wide receiver and downfield threat Sidney Rice out until at least late October, they must acquire another receiving threat for Brett Favre to help their struggling offense, which was second in the league last year in scoring only behind the New Orleans Saints.

Even with the Vikings offensive explosion of sorts putting up 24 and 20 points, respectively, in their last two games, the Vikings are a horrendous 31st in the league, only ahead of the 0-5 Carolina Panthers in scoring this season.

After a Monday night loss to the New York Jets, the Vikings finish a tough October shedule with games against the equally disappointing 1-3 Cowboy, at Green Bay and at New England. However, the Vikings can withhold hope that three prominent Super Bowl contenders in the NFC—New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers—are all struggling to put together a convincing stretch of games themselves.

Consider this: what do the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals all have in common? They are the surprising, seldom picked divisional champions, yet they all lead their respective divisions.

If it says anything about the NFL, it’s that the parity between teams and the inability to predict results is more evident now than ever before. With Randy Moss back in the fold as a Minnesota Viking, the Vikings have a legitimate chance to turn their season around and fulfill early season predictions as Super Bowl contenders after the return of Brett Favre.

The Vikings realize that this year presents a now or never ultimatum. A preposterous 17 players have expiring contracts after this season, including Favre, Moss, Sidney Rice, Pat Williams, Chad Greenway and Ryan Longwell.

If anything is for certain, the Land of 10,000 Lakes must finally let Moss grow again in Minnesota.