Minnesota Vikings dip again in NFL power rankings after Week 7 bye

Vikings power rankings heading into Week 8

Last week’s power rankings saw the Vikings plummet to depths that no fan wanted to see the team go. Of course, when you’re a team that only wins one game through the first seven weeks, it shouldn’t be shocking to see them in the cellar.

As a sweet gesture of mercy, the purple and gold had the week off in Week 7, meaning they couldn’t take a loss during the bye no matter what and they would enter Week 8 with a 1-5 record, which includes zero wins against NFC teams.

But what else happened in Week 7 to change how the experts are looking at the Vikings at the moment and did the team move from their positions in last week’s power rankings?

Let’s see where Minnesota stands in the power rankings heading into Week 8.

Bleacher Report

27th (↓ 1)

• “The Minnesota Vikings threw in the towel.” – B/R NFL Staff

USA Today Sports

26nd (no change)

•  “Jalyn Holmes and Ifeadi Odenigbo. They’ve combined for 2.5 sacks in 2020.” – USA Today’s Nate Davis

ESPN

24th (↑ 1)

• “If Cousins’ poor play continues, the Vikings will need to make a decision about his future.” – ESPN’s Courtney Cronin

Sports Illustrated

25th (↑ 1)

• ” Mike Zimmer is a good coach who isn’t going anywhere…” – Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr

Sporting News

27th (↓ 3)

• “The Vikings needed a bye to regroup defensively and get Dalvin Cook back healthy.” – Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer

NFL.com

26th (↑ 1)

• “Management now sees the 2020 Vikings as broken beyond repair”  – NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus

Yahoo Sports

26th (no change)

• “Well, the Vikings are bad. But we might be watching something special with Justin Jefferson.” – Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab

Pro Football Network

29th (↓ 2)

• “This is a lost season for the Vikings.” – Pro Football Network’s Matt Williamson

ProFootballTalk

27th (↑ 1)

• “Hey, Vikings, take next week off, too.” – ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio

CBS Sports

27th (↓ 1)

• “They come off their bye seemingly in a look-to-the-future mode after trading Yannick Ngakoue.” – CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco

The average placement for the Vikings this week is 26.4, a drop of 0.3 spots. The shifting of teams around Minnesota has caused them to dip a bit among our group of experts and somehow make them seem worse than before.

Most commonly, experts put the purple and gold in the No. 27 spot. Four of the 10 power rankings had them ranked there, which is a drop of one spot. This likely accounts for the minor decrease in the overall ranking.

Oddly, the range for placement of the Vikings increased. Last week, the range was five spots and it increased to six this week. That means the bye week actually hurt these experts in trying to pinpoint exactly where the team should be.

As far as the spread, placement ranged from 24 to 29. Is Minnesota really the fourth-worst team in the NFL or are they just bad through the first seven weeks, but not absolutely horrible enough to be in the cellar?