Most media outlets these days put out power rankings after each week, evaluating how each team fared in the previous week’s matchup, and how they compare to their peers. It’s an easy way to churn out content, and a great conversation starter.
The folks at PFF; however, go a little further with power rankings than most. Not only do their weekly overall team rankings have more data than most other outlets to give you a better concept of why teams are moving up or down, but they also churn out power rankings for individual units on each team, giving a more granular look at the weekly picture.
One of those unit power rankings that PFF puts out is ranking each team’s offensive line each week. This week, the results aren’t kind to the Minnesota Vikings — and understandably so. Losing Christian Darrisaw– playing at a Pro Bowl level before the injury- is a huge blow to the team, and it makes sense that the Vikings would tumble as a result.
And tumble they did! The team’s offensive line fell six spots in this week’s rankings from PFF. That puts the Vikings in the bottom third of the league at #22, down from their #16 spot last week. That ranking may change next week, as Christian Darrisaw’s replacement, Cam Robinson, gets acclimated to the team and gets inserted into the starting lineup. For this week, however, PFF is projecting David Quessenberry getting the start in Darrisaw’s absence.
As the Vikings try to recover from their two-game skid, the offensive line is going to play a big part in just how well the team performs from here on out. Where quarterback Sam Darnold once could feel confident his blindside was protected, now there’s a lot of uncertainty — which is not good for a quarterback who has struggled the past two weeks, and has a pretty lengthy history of struggling when the pressure is on.
If there is a bright side, it’s that despite the tumble in offensive line rankings, and in spite of the two-game slide, the Vikings are still in the top 10 of PFF’s overall power rankings.
