The latest batch of NFL power rankings has hit the wires and it has some interesting information.
Now, it’s an interesting exercise. Power rankings themselves are very subjective. What it does is give a semblance of what national media and analysts believe a team is. There is no singular right or wrong answer, but the exercise shows what the masses believe.
Buy Vikings TicketsThe Minnesota Vikings are a fascinating team. Sitting at 0-3, their nine turnovers are what has cost them so dearly. If they eliminate even just one third of their turnovers, that could have them at 3-0. Even though they have mostly played well, what matters most is what the record is.
Analysts are split on how to view the Vikings right now with a nine spot difference in how they are viewed.
Vikings Wire's Tyler Forness
Last week: 19
This week: 22
Cowboys Wire's K.D. Drummond
Last week: 27
This week: 25
USA Today's Nate Davis
Last week: 24
This week: 24
WR Justin Jefferson might be your early Offensive Player of the Year, on pace for nearly 2,600 receiving yards. Unless it’s QB Kirk Cousins (league-high 96 completions, 1,075 yards and 9 TDs). Question is, will “KFC” – should he? – finish the season with presently winless Minnesota?
NFL.com's Eric Edholm
Last week: 22
This week: 26
Is the season over? No, but it’s getting late early. Brian Flores’ defense had acquitted itself fairly respectably in the first two games, even if the limitations were obvious. On Sunday, the unit was diced up by Justin Herbert and Co., unable to pressure him enough or cover on the back end. The Chargers threw 48 passes — 41 were completed, and Vikings DBs batted away only three throws. Actually, Akayleb Evans could have made it four, but his deflected pass went right to Joshua Palmer for a TD. That was bad luck, but the reality of the situation is that the defense has little chance to hang with elite offenses.
ESPN's NFL Nation
Last week: 25
This week: 26
The Vikings lead the NFL with nine turnovers. Their seven lost fumbles are tied for the second most through three NFL weeks since at least 2000, and Kirk Cousins’ two interceptions have both been costly. One occurred at the goal line a Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers, and the other happened in the end zone to seal their Week 3 defeat against the Chargers. Coach Kevin O’Connell added new practice drills to address the fumble problems after Week 2, but tight end T.J. Hockenson fumbled to end their first possession in the ensuing game. It’s hard to overstate the significance of these turnovers to a team that has lost its three games by a mere 13 points. — Kevin Seifert
CBS Sports' Pete Prisco
Last week: 26
This week: 29
At 0-3, their season is all but done. Climbing out of that hole won’t be easy, and the defense probably won’t make it possible.
Yahoo! Sports' Frank Schwab
Last week: 23
This week: 24
Let’s run this stat back: The Vikings were 11-0 in one-score games last season, an NFL record, and this season they’re 0-3. It seems like the Vikings are by far the best of the winless teams, but it’s tough to come back from 0-3. Only six teams in the Super Bowl era started 0-3 and made the playoffs. Since 2002, only one of 99 teams (the 2018 Texans) that started 0-3 made the postseason, via Fox 9 in Minnesota. The Vikings have lost three games by 13 combined points and are in a world of trouble.
Bleacher Report's NFL Staff
Last week: 21
This week: 23
On Sunday, Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 325 yards and two scores in each of his first three starts in a season, per the NFL’s communications department.
However, he also threw the interception that probably ended any real chance the Vikings had of making the playoffs in 2023.
Last year, the Vikings played in 11 one-score games and won them all. This year, the Vikings have played in three one-score games and lost them all.
Just about everything that could go wrong has for the Vikings. Their minus-seven turnover differential is tied for the worst in the league. The Vikings are once again a dumpster fire defensively, allowing the seventh-most yards and points per game after ranking 31st in total defense last season.
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio
The Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer
Last week: 27
This week: 29
The Vikings are not having the unsustainable fourth-quarter success of last season and their defense is playing a huge part in the regression below the mean. The reality should be sinking in, despite the talent around Kirk Cousins, they’re not returning to the playoffs.
The Athletic's Josh Kendall
Last week: 24
This week: 25
The only concern about Kirk Cousins in Minnesota is how long he’ll be there. He’s on pace for 6,091 yards and 51 touchdowns this year. Despite Patrick Mahomes existing and Tua Tagovailoa throwing to a collection of aliens, Cousins leads the league in passing yards (1,075) and passing touchdowns (nine). On Sunday, he became the fifth player ever with at least 325 passing yards and two touchdowns in each of his team’s first three games. The Jets, Falcons and maybe the Saints have to be interested in that.
Pro Football Network's Dalton Miller
Last week: 26
This week: 28
The Minnesota Vikings’ final offensive play summarizes their season to date. They looked discombobulated and slow getting the play ready after T.J. Hockenson caught a first-down pass with over 30 seconds left.
There was hardly even a brisk walk going on with the Vikings’ offensive personnel, who practically acted like it was a normal mid-game sequence. With about 12 seconds remaining on first down, Cousins forced a pass to Hockenson. The pass was intercepted, and the Vikings fell to 0-3.
Fox Sports' David Helman
Last week: 19
This week: 20
Two more turnovers in Week 3 gave the Vikings nine for the season, and both of these came deep in Chargers territory. They were painfully close to winning this game, just as they were painfully close to winning the other two. I honestly still like their chances to pull out of it, provided they can ever hold on to the football.
Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr
Last week: 29
This week: 29
The Kirk Cousins trade watch is on. At 0–3, the Vikings should be in strategic freefall for their next quarterback option. Cousins’s value is never going to be higher than it is right now, just a few weeks before the deadline, with the Jets absolutely in need of a top-line starter and another few teams in need of a high-end backup that may be interested in keeping Cousins out of New York.
Touchdown Wire's Jarrett Bailey
Last week: 24
This week: 24
You’re 0-3. The road doesn’t get easier. Kirk Cousins isn’t coming back next season- trade him to the Jets and try to get Caleb Williams.
