Minnesota Vikings Power Rankings Review: Week 12 edition

The experts are feeling good about the Minnesota Vikings in the power rankings heading into their Thanksgiving matchup against the Detroit Lions in Week 12.

Coming off a huge statement victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11, the Minnesota Vikings have only a handful of days to prepare for their Week 12 game against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

But how experts viewed the win over the Rams is interesting as well. For that, we can turn our attention to the Week 12 power rankings to see how they are comparing Minnesota to the other franchises around the NFL.

Here is a look at where some of the top sports analysts have the Vikings ranked as they sit at 8-2 on top of the NFC North heading into a big divisional matchup on the road:

Ranked #4

• Bleacher Report – Chris Simms: “Minnesota is one of the best teams in football, and they continue to prove it every week.” (Up 1 spot)
• Chicago Tribune – Brad Biggs: “Mike Zimmer’s defense is getting due recognition after stifling the powerful Rams offense.” (Up 3 spots)
• New York Daily News – Manish Mehta: “Three consecutive daunting road games await against the Lions, Falcons and Panthers.”  (Up 3 spots)
• NESN – Joshua Schrock: “Head coach Mike Zimmer took Todd Gurley and the deep ball away from the Rams, and the result was a 24-7 win for the Vikings.” (Up 2 spots)
• NFL.com – Elliott Harrison: “the Vikings deserve to be at least this high after the way they performed Sunday.” (Up 2 spots)
• Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio: “Having Teddy Bridgewater looming over Case Keenum‘s shoulder actually makes Keenum play better.” (Up 1 spot)
• Star Tribune – Mark Craig: “Don’t do your “Duck, Duck, GOOSE!” division-winning celebration until you see what happens in Detroit on Thursday.” (Up 1 spot)
• USA TODAY Sports: “Here’s one of the weirdest notes of 2017 season — Minnesota hasn’t lost since RB Dalvin Cook’s season-ending knee injury.” (Up 4 spots)

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Ranked #5

• Bleeding Green Nation – Brandon Lee Gowton: “The Vikings just keep winning despite the fact Case Keenum is their quarterback.” (Up 2 spots)
• CBS Sports – Pete Prisco: “There is no need to take Case Keenum out of the lineup. With the pressure of that talk hanging over his head, he played well against the Rams.” (Up 1 spot)
• ESPN.com: “Case Keenum has turned this season into a win for the Vikings. He has taken just one sack in his past six games and has posted the league’s best Total QBR (94) against the blitz this season.” (Up 2 spots)
• NJ.com – Joe Giglio: “Minnesota has more talent than anyone thought heading into the season.” (Up 1 spot)
• Sporting News – Vinnie Iyer: “Case Keenum keeps needing to prove he deserves to remain the starting quarterback, and it has been master motivation.” (Up 1 spot)
• Sports Illustrated – MMQB Staff: “Highest-Place Vote: Third, Lowest-Place Vote: Fifth (9)” (Up 1 spot)
• Washington Post – Mark Maske: “Their lopsided triumph over the Rams reinforces the possibility that the Vikings could become the first team to play a Super Bowl in its own stadium” (Up 1 spot)
• Yahoo Sports – Frank Schwab: “How many teams have a better receiver tandem than the Vikings? Stefon Diggs is very good, and Adam Thielen is on pace for 1,466 yards.” (Up 3 spots)

Next: How to watch Vikings vs Lions in Week 12

Where do you feel the Minnesota Vikings deserve to be ranked among the other teams in the NFL? And do you think they will get better or regress from here? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.