Vikings plummet in NFL power rankings following Week 1 loss
By Adam Carlson
Vikings power rankings heading into Week 2
With the loss to the Packers and the team’s obvious struggles on the field, expecting Minnesota to fall in this week’s power rankings should be obvious. The only question is how deep the drop will be from their average of 12.5 last week.
Let’s look at some of the most prominent rankings from around the internet and where they felt the Vikings deserve to land.
Bleacher Report
11th (↓ 4)
- “The cornerbacks are not good.” – B/R NFL Staff
USA Today Sports
13th (↑ 1)
-  “If you can’t apply pressure, young corners will get burned.” – USA Today’s Nate Davis
ESPN
14th (↓ 4)
- “The Vikings didn’t get a ton of contributions from their rookie class in Week 1.” – ESPN’s NFL Nation
Sports Illustrated
15th (↓ 2)
- “That loss was much worse than the final score shows.” – Sports Illustrated’s MMQB Staff
Sporting News
15th (↓ 5)
- “The Vikings’ defense looked lost and confused with some big changes up front and in the secondary.” – Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer
NFL.com
16th (↓ 6)
- “In the real world, this was an embarrassing effort against a division rival that outclassed the Vikings in all phases.” – NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus
Yahoo Sports
16th (↑ 2)
- “This was not the year, without a preseason, to turn over a cornerback group.” – Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab
Pro Football Network
20th (↓ 6)
- “Minnesota could be one of the teams most affected by a lack of people in the seats.” – Pro Football Network’s Matt Williamson
ProFootballTalk
22nd (↓ 10)
- “…it already feels like a scholarship year in Minnesota.” – ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio
CBS Sports
23rd (↓ 4)
- “Defense is the calling card for Mike Zimmer’s teams, but it wasn’t against Green Bay in the opener.” – CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco
These rankings average out to about 16.5, making the Vikings a middle-of-the-road team in the eyes of experts after Week 1. In fact, the most common placement was 16, making that the mean, median, and average for Minnesota this week.