The return of Brett Favre to New York. The return of Santonio Holmes from suspension. The continued return of LaDainian Tomlinson from oblivion.
Those were expected to be the featured storylines when the Minnesota Vikings invade the New Meadowlands Stadium for a prime-time clash with the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.
One stunning trade later and all the aforementioned themes got pushed out of the spotlight, dwarfed by the return of wide receiver Randy Moss to the Vikings this week.
Moss, who was traded by the New England Patriots to Minnesota (1-2) on Wednesday, will be in uniform and is expected to start Monday for the team that drafted him in the first round in 1998.
In a couple of quirks of scheduling, Moss will become just the second player to appear on Monday Night Football in back-to-back weeks.
The 33-year-old superstar wideout also will be going toe-to-toe with all-world Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis for the second time in four weeks.
When they last lined up against one another in Week 2, Moss made a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab in the final minute of the first half. Revis injured a hamstring on the catch and has not played since.
The Moss-Revis duel alone could make one forget that Monday's game matches up two teams who lost in their respective conference championship games last January.
The Jets (3-1) are showing that last season’s performance was no fluke, rebounding from a Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens to rattle off three consecutive wins against AFC East rivals New England, Miami and Buffalo.
Quarterback Mark Sanchez has bounced back from a dismal performance against the Ravens to help the Jets put up 97 points in the last three weeks.
Sanchez has thrown for eight touchdowns and zero interceptions during the three-game winning streak and has three successive games with a passing rating above 100.
New York is also getting great balance with a rushing attack that ranks second in the league thanks to a rejuvenated Tomlinson, who rambled for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in last week’s 38-14 rout of the Bills.
It was the first 100-yard game since Oct. 26, 2008, for Tomlinson, who has wrested the starting job from second-year back Shonn Green.
Tight end Dustin Keller has been Sanchez’s favorite target with 19 receptions for 254 yards and five touchdowns. That could change with the arrival of Holmes, who will make his debut with New York after sitting out four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Defensively, the arrival of Moss means the Jets cannot focus on running back Adrian Peterson, who has rushed for 392 yards and three touchdowns in three games.
Peterson had his best game of the season prior to the bye, rushing for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-10 win over the Detroit Lions.
Favre and the Vikings’ passing game have been stagnant without Pro Bowl wideout Sidney Rice, who is recovering from hip surgery. Without a deep threat, Favre is averaging 199 yards through the air with two TDs and six interceptions.
Favre needs one touchdown to reach 500 for his career. The addition of Moss should spark the passing attack for Minnesota, which has lost six consecutive games to the Jets.