After getting smoked by the Lions, where do the Vikings rate?
The Minnesota Vikings were at the mercy of the Detroit Lions — and in some respects, the officials — in a massive thrashing at Ford Field last Sunday.
Now, instead of a bye and home-field advantage in the postseason, the Vikings will have to be road warriors to get to the ultimate goal, if they are capable of doing so.
How far down did the loss to Detroit drop the Purple in power rankings?
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 — 6th (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: “…the Vikings are resigned to be known as the winningest team not to capture its division, tied for the most wins by a playoff team that did not land a No. 1 seed (since seeding began in 1975).”
The Athletic/New York Times — 5th (previously 2nd)
Key excerpt: “Sunday night wasn’t the best argument for this lesson, but Sam Darnold is sixth in passer rating (102.5) and fifth in touchdown passes (35) this season.”
ESPN.com — N/A (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: It does not appear ESPN did power rankings this week.
Pro Football Talk — 5th (previously 3rd)
Key excerpt: “Was it a car hitting a pothole or a chariot becoming a pumpkin moment for Sam Darnold?”
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco) — 6th (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: “Sam Darnold wasn’t good in the loss to the Lions, which is concerning heading into this week’s playoff game. They (sic) offense has to be better against the Rams.”
Palm Beach Post (Joe Schad) — N/A (previously 3rd)
Key excerpt: It does not appear the Palm Beach Post did power rankings this week.
The Score — 6th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “There’s no time to wallow in self-pity following a deflating loss to the Lions with the NFC North at stake. The Vikings can take out their frustrations as a lower seed in the NFC bracket.”
NFL Trade Rumors — N/A (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: It does not appear NFL Trade Rumors did power rankings this week.
Sports Illustrated — 4th (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: “I agree with Dan Campbell that we’ll see these teams again in a few weeks.”
USA Today — 8th (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: “It’s been a great season. Great. Unexpected. Perhaps a major building block toward the Lombardi Trophy that has forever eluded this franchise. But is a letdown already setting in?”
Writer’s note: This is a ranking of playoff teams with USA Today suggesting the Vikings are the No. 8 team in the playoffs by Super Bowl title likelihood.
Yahoo! Sports — 6th (previously 5th)
Key excerpt: “One game doesn’t change the fact that Sam Darnold had a great season. But Darnold was not good on Sunday. If he has a rough game against the Rams in a loss next Monday night, it will bring up a lot of questions — fair or not — about whether he’s a viable franchise QB as he heads to free agency.”
The 33rd Team — 5th (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: “Minnesota is still a good team and very well could see the Lions in Round 2. Don’t be too discouraged after a tough road loss in Week 18.”
Marquee Sports Network — N/A (previously 3rd)
Key excerpt: It does not appear that Marquee Sports Network did power rankings this week.
New York Post — 4th (previously 4th)
Key excerpt: “None of that season-long Darnold magic was anywhere to be found in the loss to the Lions.”
Average ranking: 5.5 (55 ranking points/10 rankings)
Spare thoughts: I can’t complain about this at all. The one thing that rustled my jimmies was a sneak peak at 2025 rankings that had the Packers ahead of the Vikings on one of the sites. I swear it’s impossible for anyone to rank the Vikings ahead of the Packers on power rankings unless absolutely necessary.
What do you think? Join the conversation below (and recommend other power rankings to add if you wish)!
