Minnesota Vikings surge in NFL power rankings after Week 8 upset

Vikings power rankings heading into Week 9

Last week’s power rankings saw the Vikings, once again, reach their lowest points of the season. Considering they were a team with only one victory in the first seven weeks of the year, it was hard to argue with any logic that placed them at the bottom of power rankings.

The bye week was good to Minnesota as it allowed them to get players some rest and recovery time before taking on a division rival. Now that they are 2-5, how much have the experts changed their minds about what the purple and gold can do moving forward?

Here are where the experts have the Vikings placed in their most recent power rankings moving into Week 9.

Bleacher Report

24th (↑ 3)

• “Cook wasn’t an important part of the Minnesota offense at Lambeau Field—he was the Minnesota offense.” – B/R NFL Staff

USA Today Sports

21st (↑ 5)

•  “Pretty simple formula – give RB Dalvin Cook 25 touches, and Minnesota is going to win.” – USA Today’s Nate Davis

ESPN

21st (↑ 3)

• “The type of heroic performance Cook turned in against Green Bay is the reason the Vikings paid him this offseason.” – ESPN’s Courtney Cronin

Sports Illustrated

20th (↑ 5)

• “This win was a Dalvin Cook masterpiece.” – Sports Illustrated’s Jenny Vrentas

Sporting News

23th (↑ 4)

• “They’ll try to keep out-scoring teams and hope to sneak back into the wild-card race.” – Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer

NFL.com

20th (↑ 6)

• “Cousins’ longest pass of the game covered 8 air yards.”  – NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus

Yahoo Sports

25th (↑ 1)

• “Dalvin Cook had 226 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday in a win over the Packers. The rest of the Vikings combined had 98 yards and no touchdowns.” – Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab

Pro Football Network

22nd (↑ 7)

• “Minnesota’s offense is night and day different when Cook is in and out of the lineup.” – Pro Football Network’s Matt Williamson

ProFootballTalk

20th (↑ 7)

• “Let Dalvin Cook. Every week.” – ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio

CBS Sports

24th (↑ 3)

• “Winning at Green Bay, with a soft schedule coming the next five weeks, gives them some hope.” – CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco

The average placement for the Vikings this week is 22, an improvement of 4.4 spots. That is a significant surge for Minnesota considering they beat a top contender on the road and were ranked so low heading into the game.

The most common spot to find the purple and gold in a power ranking was 20, which is also the highest ranking for the team given by experts. This is interesting because it shows the most common take on the Vikings is also the most positive one.

Last week saw a range of placement for Minnesota increase to six. Considering the up and down season, the expectation was that the spread would widen. Instead, the range stayed at six with the team staying with the 20-25 range with all experts.