The Minnesota Vikings didn’t just spoil Kirk Cousins’ return to Minneapolis; they gave his Atlanta Falcons an outright paddlin’.
So where does this leave the Vikings in the power rankings this week?
I’m glad you asked — here is the consensus look at this week’s power rankings.
If you have any other rankings you think should be included, feel free to DM me @Brandon_Warne on the tweets.
Let’s talk to it (rankings are hyperlinked for maximum clickage):
The Rankings
NFL.com — 5th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “It’s to the point where we should be thinking about the proper Darnold questions now. ”Can he perform in the playoffs?” has turned into ”Is Darnold in the MVP race?”
The Athletic/New York Times — 3rd (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “Calling (Aaron Jones) a breakout player is stretching the term, but the impact players in Minnesota are all known names, and Jones has added an element to his game this season. He has 37 catches for 302 yards to go with 893 rushing yards, already his second-best total since 2020. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry against the Falcons on Sunday.”
ESPN.com — 5th (previously 6th)
Key excerpt: “The Vikings’ defense ranks No. 1 in efficiency and No. 2 in expected points added, but it allows 337.8 yards per game. In fact, over the past three weeks, Vikings opponents have averaged 433.3 yards.”
Pro Football Talk — 4th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “They could end up being a 14-win wild-card team.”
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco) — 4th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “After a home game with the Bears, their schedule toughens down the stretch with a road game at Seattle, a home game against the Packers and a road game at the Lions. We will find out a lot about this team in the final four games.”
Palm Beach Post (Joe Schad) — 5th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “Justin Jefferson leads the NFL in receiving yards.” (seriously bro?)
The Score — 5th (previously 6th)
Key excerpt: OK, this is pretty good:
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NFL Trade Rumors — 7th (previously 8th)
Key excerpt: “The Vikings got a dominant, feel-good win over their old quarterback in his return to Minnesota. They’ve played some tight games the last few weeks, so a comfortable victory is welcome.”
Sports Illustrated — 4th (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: “The Vikings’ offensive line should be thankful; they were heavily vulnerable in the early portions of this game, giving up some big sacks on three and four-man pressures that were as simple as a guy getting beat.”
USA Today — 5th (previously 9th)
Key excerpt: “They’re 11-2. Seriously, they’re 11-2 and have just as good a shot as the Eagles of stealing home-field advantage from Detroit.”
Yahoo! Sports — 5th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “A Week 18 game between a 14-2 Vikings team and 14-2 Lions team for the NFC North title isn’t a stretch.”
The 33rd Team — 4th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “The Minnesota Vikings’ offense has been nearly unstoppable since the return of T.J. Hockenson, and Minnesota still has an outside shot at the No. 1 seed if it can beat the Lions in Week 18.”
Marquee Sports Network — 5th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “What Sam Darnold is doing is nothing short of amazing.”
New York Post — 5th (previously 6th)
Key excerpt: “With his Vikings predecessor Kirk Cousins on the other sideline, Sam Darnold threw for career-highs of 347 yards and five touchdowns to double up the Falcons, 42-21.”
Average ranking: 4.71 (66 ranking points/14 rankings)
Spare thoughts: Florio last week: “At some point their luck is going to run out.” OK guy.
But for real, I don’t know about Kevin Seifert’s analysis. The Vikings are Nos. 1 and 2 in efficiency and expected points added. While I care about the yards opponents pick up, time of possession and opponents playing catch-up also matter, right?
What do you think? Join the conversation below (and recommend other power rankings to add if you wish)!