Hello again sports fans. We’re back with another season of putting together a consensus power ranking for the Vikings each week, and with Week 1 now in the rear-view mirror, we’re off and running.
Let’s talk to it (rankings are hyperlinked for maximum clickage):
The Rankings
Key excerpt: “But when the Bears missed a field goal that would’ve given them a two-touchdown lead, something clicked in McCarthy — and he went nuclear…the night belonged to McCarthy — a Bears fan growing up — finding his way through some serious adversity.”
The Athletic/New York Times — 12th
Key excerpt: “They’re so well coached.”
Key excerpt: “O’Connell said Mason’s hard running helped open up the passing lanes for quarterback J.J. McCarthy and helped lead to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.”
Key excerpt: “In 15 minutes of football, J.J. McCarthy gave Vikings fans reason to believe they finally have a long-term answer at quarterback.”
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco) — 14th
Key excerpt: “Quarterback J.J. McCarthy bounced back after a bad start against the Bears, which is a great sign for the season. The defense also came alive.”
Key excerpt: “Key offseason addition: Jonathan Allen” (all due respect but his captions are lame every single week)
The Score — 7th
Key excerpt: The Vikings are better than last year…This team has everything it needs to support a young quarterback learning on the fly.”
NFL Trade Rumors — 14th
Key excerpt: “Minnesota has a playoff-caliber roster, and if McCarthy can be steady, they’ll be dangerous.”
Sports Illustrated — 11th
Key excerpt: “(McCarthy)’s going to be just fine, especially now that we’ve seen the resilience factor play out on a big stage.”
USA Today — 15th
Key excerpt: “Or is it Michigan? It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but QB J.J. McCarthy made the plays when he needed to, otherwise relying on a very talented supporting cast, as his team won its Big Ten, er NFC North, opener.“
Yahoo! Sports — 8th
Key excerpt: “Many quarterbacks would have folded in their first start if they played like J.J. McCarthy did in the first three quarters. McCarthy stayed in the fight and had two passing touchdowns and a rushing score in the fourth quarter of a comeback win. That was telling.”
The 33rd Team — No longer does power rankings.
Key excerpt: Pour one out for our friends at The 33rd Team.
Marquee Sports Network — It appears Marquee does not do them anymore, either.
Key excerpt: Feel free to suggest more outlets, then.
New York Post — 17th
Key excerpt: For some reason, the Vikings did not get a comment, but the following 0-1 teams were ranked ahead of them — the Ravens (fourth), Chiefs (sixth), Lions (seventh), Cowboys (14, which…..what?). The only 1-0 teams ranked behind the Vikings were the Raiders (19th), Cardinals (21st) and Jaguars (22nd).
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Average ranking: 4.71 (66 ranking points/12 rankings)
Spare thoughts: I don’t really understand the comment on the USA Today blurb. I mean I do; I just don’t think it’s funny. I will withhold judgment on this week’s consensus rankings, but I feel confident the Vikings will be quite a bit higher when we meet in this space a week from now.
What do you think? Join the conversation below (and recommend other power rankings to add if you wish)!
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