Minnesota Vikings Week 2 Power Rankings Review: Climbing the charts

After a big win in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, most experts have the Minnesota Vikings trending upward in their weekly NFL Power Rankings.

The Minnesota Vikings opened the 2018 season at home against a tough San Francisco 49ers team led by Jimmy Garoppolo, who had never experienced a loss as a starting quarterback. That streak ended on Sunday, as the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium saw the home team move to 1-0.

A great defensive performance and solid play on offense were impressive enough to catch the eye of the national media, whose voice got a little louder when looking at the Vikings as a serious Super Bowl contender.

Heading into Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers on the road, the experts have moved the Minnesota Vikings accordingly based on their performance. Here is where the team currently stands:

Ranked 1st

• Bleacher Report Staff: “Minnesota looked the part of the Super Bowl favorite many have labeled them this year.” (No change)
• NJ.com – Joe Giglio: “If this group stays healthy, the NFC postseason road to the Super Bowl could go through Minnesota.” (Unknown)
• SB Nation – Rebecca Toback (Up one spot)
• Sporting News, Vinnie Iyer: “Sheldon Richardson also made a big impact, making the NFC runners-up the new NFC favorites.” (Up one spot)
• Yahoo Sports - Frank Schwab: “The offensive line, which is the Vikings’ only glaring weakness, wasn’t great in Week 1, allowing three sacks and not opening up much for the run game. But it was good enough.” (No change)

Ranked 3rd

• ESPN.com – Vincent Johnson: “Cousins passed for two TDs and got a healthy Dalvin Cook heavily involved in the passing game with a career-high seven targets.” (Up one spot)
• NBC Sports Washington – Peter Hailey: “The Vikings look like they’ll be as balanced as anyone in pro football now that they have Kirk Cousins in purple.” (Unknown)
• NFL.com – Elliot Harrison: “Impressive Vikings debut for Kirk Cousins, even if everything didn’t go perfectly for the home-town purple.” (Up one spot)

Ranked 4th

• Sports Illustrated – MMQB Staff: (Down one spot)
• Star Tribune – Mark Craig: “Much room to grow, but a solid team win, including a quiet, calm-the-waters effort on special teams.” (Unknown)
• USA TODAY Sports – Nate Davis: “Defense appeared as rugged as ever.” (Up three spots)
• Washington Post – Mark Maske: “It’s so far, so good for QB Kirk Cousins with his new team.” (No change)

Ranked 5th

• CBS Sports – Pete Prisco: “The Kirk Cousins era got off to a good start, but now comes a tough road game against the Packers.” (Up one spot)

Ranked 8th

• Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio: “The Vikings still need to figure out how to deliver a knockout blow.” (Up one spot)

Ranked 9th

• Walter Football – Walter: “Overrated NFL Team” (Up three spots)

Most experts moved the Vikings up their Power Rankings toward the top position, with the only exception being the Monday Morning Quarterback staff, who moved Minnesota down to accommodate for the Green Bay Packers.

Even Walter Football, who has very little faith in the Vikings to be Super Bowl contenders, found Minnesota moving up significantly. If Minnesota can beat Green Bay on Sunday, odds are they could move into the top 7 unanimously.

However, as a Vikings fan, it is hard to be comfortable seeing the team get so much love on a national level. It would be better to see Minnesota be the underdog in the NFL. But, with a defense so strong and a high-potential offense, it’s understandable why so many believe in the purple and gold.

We’ll take another look at the NFL Power Rankings next week after the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers happens and the experts weigh in on where the team should stand after the big NFC North matchup.