NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Vikings Rising After Impressive Win
For the first time in 2019, the Vikings have a winning streak. They've won two straight against NFC East foes, following up a road victory over the Giants with a high-scoring win over the Eagles at home.
As a result, the Vikings are starting to make some moves in the power rankings. Here's where the national media ranks Mike Zimmer's squad heading into Week 7.
SI.com MMQB: No. 8 (Up 6 spots)
The MMQB's seven voters see the Vikings as the fifth-best team in the NFC, trailing the 49ers, Saints, Packers and Seahawks. They were voted as high as No. 5 and as low as No. 12 in the NFL.
"The Vikings needed a big game, and they got it thanks to Stefon Diggs’s seven catches on 11 targets for 167 yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles’ secondary is shambolic at best, but sometimes all you need is a slump-buster to get back on track."
NFL.com: No. 8 (Up 8 spots)
We come to praise Kirk Cousins. The Vikings quarterback was a punching bag when the offense was slumping earlier this month, so it's only fair we point out how excellent Cousins was, both in Week 5 against the Giants and – especially – on Sunday against the Eagles.
ESPN.com: No. 10 (Up 4 spots)
ESPN asked each of its beat reporters to list the team's biggest weakness. Courtney Cronin says for the Vikings, it's tight end play.
"The Vikings rank 27th in receiving yards, 26th in receptions and are one of three teams without a receiving TD by a tight end. The Vikings paid a pretty penny to bring back Kyle Rudolph this offseason and used a high draft pick on Irv Smith Jr. but haven't utilized this position group all that much beyond run blocking."
The Athletic: No. 7 (Up 6 spots)
"Another week, another convincing win for the Vikings …. and another impressive passing day for Kirk Cousins. Maybe, just maybe, the Vikings have learned how to be a balanced offense (29 pass attempts, 30 combined rushing attempts for backs Alexander Mattison and Dalvin Cook), and now with two happy wide receivers, the Vikings could be very, very dangerous."
Bleacher Report: No. 11 (Up 5 spots)
B/R's voters ranked the Vikings as high as No. 8 and as low as No. 13. After praising the team's recent play, they offered some reasons for caution in getting too high on this team.
"...this is also the same Vikings team that's 0-2 in the division and seems to shrink when the lights are brightest more often than not. Minny has road trips coming to Detroit, Kansas City and Dallas that could change my mind about this team, but I'm still not quite ready to consider it a legitimate Super Bowl contender."
CBS Sports: No. 10 (Up 8 spots)
Just two weeks ago, Pete Prisco had the Vikings at No. 19. He brought them up just one spot after beating the Giants, but was very impressed by the resounding win over the Eagles.
"Kirk Cousins was sensational against the Eagles. Maybe the big-game failures are behind him. If the offense plays like that, they can win a lot of games."
Washington Post: No. 11 (Up 7 spots)
"QB Kirk Cousins wasn’t the weak link against the Eagles that Zach Brown predicted. Cousins finally got WR Stefon Diggs involved in the Vikings’ offense to perhaps quiet all the trade speculation about Diggs. But the Vikings shouldn’t gloat too much. Cousins still has to show that he can get it done in bigger games against the better teams."
Chicago Tribune: No. 11 (Up 5 spots)
"The Vikings are a significantly different team at home, or a significantly different offense, anyway. We’ll see how the next month goes: The Vikings have road games against the Lions, Chiefs and Cowboys."
