Minnesota Vikings Week 4 Power Rankings Review: Nosedive after loss
By Adam Carlson
After a brutal beatdown from the Buffalo Bills, the Minnesota Vikings are making a huge nosedive toward the bottom of power rankings heading into Week 4.
Entering Week 3 of the season with a 1-0-1 record, things were looking pretty good for the Minnesota Vikings as they were set to face off against a Buffalo Bills team that looked inept in nearly all phases of the game.
However, what happened on the field at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday was nothing short of a massacre, with the Bills making the Vikings look like they could be the worst team in the league when they should be playoff contenders.
Their humiliating defeat put Minnesota on watch, and many experts are lowering their expectations for this Vikings squad and have adjusted their power rankings accordingly.
Let’s take a look at where the Minnesota Vikings are sitting in the power rankings as the team looks ahead to Thursday Night Football in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Ranked 3rd
- NESN – Adam London: “it’s better to get punched in the mouth now than in the playoffs.” (No change)
Ranked 5th
- Bleacher Report – Staff: “Well, there was most assuredly a hapless team on the field at U.S. Bank Stadium. It was the Vikings.” (Down 3 spots)
- Business Insider – Tyler Lauletta and Scott Davis: “Was the Vikings’ blowout loss at the hand of the lowly Bills a troubling sign or a total fluke?” (Down 2 spots)
Ranked 6th
- SBNation – Rebecca Toback: “The Vikings’ leading rusher in the game was Mike Boone with just 11 yards. Yup, 11.” (Down 2 spots)
Minnesota Vikings
Ranked 8th
- Yahoo Sports – Frank Schwab: “It’s hard to trivialize whatever Everson Griffen is going through by bringing it back to football.” (Down 6 spots)
Ranked 9th
- ESPN.com: “The Vikings ran the ball six times Sunday, tied for the fewest rushing attempts by any team in a game in NFL history.” (Down 3 spots)
- NJ.com – Joe Giglio: “There’s reason to be concerned about the Vikings. No team should look that shellshocked and unprepared.” (Down 6 spots)
- NFL.com – Elliot Harrison: “Buffalo entered the Great Birdkiller in Minnesota with an 0-2 record, ranked 32nd in the Power Rankings and totally inept on offense — but walked out with a convincing win.” (Down 6 spots)
- Washington Post – Mark Maske: “The performance against the Bills was about as bad as it gets for a team with such seemingly legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.” (Down 4 spots)
Ranked 12th
- NBC Sports Chicago – Cam Ellis: “Getting thumped at home by the Bills means you have to drop at least 5 spots, those are the rules.” (Down 5 spots)
- Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio: “The Vikings draw a short-week short straw, facing the Rams in L.A. four days after the Rams played at home.” (Down 5 spots)
- Sporting News – Vinnie Iyer: “The Vikings’ offensive line issues are one thing, but the defense also didn’t look ready for Josh Allen” (Down 8 spots)
Ranked 15th
- CBS Sports – Pete Prisco: “What the heck happened against the Bills? They must have been caught looking ahead to Thursday’s game with the Rams.” (Down 10 spots)
Ranked 19th
- USA Today – Nate Davis: “Kirk Cousins on pace for 741 passes, which would break Matthew Stafford‘s single-season record (727). Cousins getting paid per throw?” (Down 14 spots)
As you can see, experts have the Vikings tumbling down the power rankings, which is absolutely deserved. With only one expert keeping Minnesota in the same spot, losing to Buffalo had to result in a big move toward the bottom of the heap.
How big that move was for Minnesota says a lot. They dropped as many as FOURTEEN spots in expert rankings, but now they have one of the widest ranges in rankings ever seen, spanning from 3rd all the way to 19th.
Next. Vikings player rankings for Week 4. dark
The power rankings for the Minnesota Vikings should become more clear after they face off against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football, but for now, the question of who this team really is must be addressed moving forward.