Minnesota Vikings recognized in week 5 national NFL power rankings

The power rankings around the NFL are showing a lot of love to the Minnesota Vikings, who are currently undefeated through 4 weeks of the 2016 season.

Normally, it is probably best to not pay much attention to the power ranking around the National Football League. It’s a bunch of opinions from people who are usually skewed by regional or marketing bias. However, now that the Minnesota Vikings are near the top, it’s getting more interesting.

Last week, the Vikings were all over the place. They could be seen anywhere from #2 all the way down to #10 in some rankings. However, after a big win at home over the New York Giants where they frustrated Odell Beckham Jr. to the point of self-implosion, more people are hopping on the hype train.

By typing Week 5 Power Rankings into Google, I pulled up the top 10 results and placed them in order of Vikings placement from top to bottom. Let’s start with the NFL’s ranking of the Minnesota Vikings leading into week 5:

#2 in the power rankings

#2 (up 1) – NFL.com: “Much love for Sam Bradford going around. Announcers are all Keith Sweat in their affectionate tones toward the Vikings quarterback. It’s deserved. The defense continues to cash every check the offense — when it falters — writes. Yet, above it all, this is Mike Zimmer’s team. He is the face of the franchise, and his Vikes have his likeness stamped all over their performance. This is a gritty bunch of bad@#$es, don’t you know?”

#2 (up 1) FOX Sports: “The Vikings are legit – there’s no way around it. At 4-0, the Vikings are one of three undefeated teams, but they’re by far the most surprising given their injuries. The defense shut down New York’s trio of receivers, while the offense gave them a comfortable lead to allow the pass rush to let loose.”

#2 (up 1) USA TODAY For The Win: “I’m done trying to figure this team out. I’ve written them off six times already this season and they’re 4-0 and looking great while doing it.”

#2 (up 1) – Washington Post: “There’s no way the Vikings should be a Super Bowl contender considering all the key players they’ve lost to injuries. But Coach Mike Zimmer has done a magnificent job. The defense is terrific, and QB Sam Bradford is getting it done. In a season with a noticeable lack of super-teams in the NFC, that could be enough.”

#2 (up 1) – SBNation: “The Vikings also crushed an opposing offense en route to a victory, defeating the New York Giants 24-10 on Monday Night Football and passing the Patriots on our power rankings for the No. 2 spot.”

#2 (up 1) – Philly.com: “Defense and Sam Bradford have been an unbeatable combination so far.”

#2 (up 1) – Bleacher Report Chris Simms: “Mike Zimmer was forced to play two inexperienced tackles against a Giants front that gets after it. Could you tell? Sam Bradford didn’t take a sack the entire game.”

#2 (up 2) – Detroit Free Press: “Quickly turning into a defensive powerhouse. And Sam Bradford looks -dare we say it- decent. Look out.”

#3 in the power rankings

#3 (no change) – NY Daily News: “Injuries? What injuries? Mike Zimmer’s defense is good enough to cover up for just about anything. Minnesota stymied Eli Manning on Monday night to remain undefeated. Sam Bradford has yet to commit to a turnover. Amazing for a guy who wasn’t on the roster until eight days before the season opener.”

Wait…what? in the power rankings

#5 (down 1) – ESPN: “The Vikings are 4-0 for the first time since 2009, and they are doing it behind a combo of solid offense and defense. The Vikings have committed one turnover with 11 takeaways, good for an NFL-best plus-10 turnover differential.”

More from The Viking Age

The consensus seems to be that the Minnesota Vikings should own the #2 place in the week 5 NFL power rankings. Seeing the New York Daily News place the Vikings at #3 makes sense because not everyone has to buy into everything Minnesota has to offer.

But the big WTF moment in this search was ESPN, who actually dropped the Vikings DOWN a spot for beating the Giants and remaining undefeated. Minnesota was put behind the Broncos (understandable), Seahawks (?), Steelers (?), and Patriots.

Next: Week 4 game recap: Vikings vs Giants

Still, power rankings are just opinions. They are there for fans of different teams to interact and debate the merits of each squad with each other. Heck, we do our own power rankings at The Viking Age just to keep you guys talking! In all, it’s all for fun…except when they just don’t seem to make sense. (I’m looking at you, ESPN)

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