Vikings Power Rankings: National media dislikes Minnesota in Week 1
By Adam Carlson
How are the Vikings being viewed?
Despite all the changes the Vikings have made this offseason and additions the team made in order to not have a repeat of their 2020 season, the experts still aren’t behind the purple and gold.
Power rankings for the team are looking a little bleak heading into Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, and that means expectations are low for Mike Zimmer and crew.
Let’s take a look at where many members of the national media have Minnesota in their power rankings ahead of their regular-season opener against the Bengals.
Bleacher Report – NFL Staff
- Rank: No. 22
- “The Vikings are also essentially the same team that went 7-9 and missed the playoffs last year.”
CBS Sports – Pete Prisco
- Rank: No. 16
- “The defense, which is usually the calling card for Mike Zimmer-coached teams, will be back to playing at a high level after a bad 2020.”
NFL.com - Dan Hanzus
- Rank: No. 17
- “The Vikings are confident their defense will vastly improve with better health and upgraded personnel under Mike Zimmer, but is it too much to expect Minnesota’s offense to repeat its top-10 finish of a year ago?”
Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio
- Rank: No. 18
- “The defense is a lot better (it couldn’t be much worse), the offense is suddenly a question mark. The return of fans to home games will be an exclamation point.”
Sports Illustrated – MMQB
- Rank: No. 20
- “The Vikings have alternated seasons in and out of the playoffs since Mike Zimmer got there, and the pattern says this year they’d be in.”
Sporting News – Vinnie Iyer
- Rank: No. 21
- “They are likely to underachieve based on schedule and losing games they shouldn’t.”
The Ringer – Danny Kelly
- Rank: No. 20
- “Minnesota boasts a trio of star skill players in Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and Dalvin Cook, but it’s hard to trust Kirk Cousins to take that group over the top this year.”
USA Today – Nate Davis
- Rank: No. 15
- “Given the reinforcements to a defense that embarrassed coach Mike Zimmer last year, Minnesota should rebound to postseason form.”
Washington Post – Mark Maske
- Rank: No. 21
- “It sure feels like it’s now-or-never time for QB Kirk Cousins in Minneapolis, doesn’t it?”
Yahoo! Sports – Frank Schwab
- Rank: No. 17
- “The Vikings improved what was Mike Zimmer’s worst defense last season. Cincinnati in Week 1 is a great test to see if it’s much better.”