MN Vikings Take Power Rankings Hit on Bye

The Minnesota Vikings were off last week for a well-deserved bye after a two-week swing in Europe. The rest of the league played on, and the NFL continues to be a difficult picture to decipher this season.

The reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles comes to U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday having lost two-straight. The Kansas City Chiefs have hardly been world-beaters, and the Green Bay Packers escaped the fate of losing against Joe Flacco twice in one season.

Despite the Vikings being parked on the sidelines last week, their overall positioning in comparison to their competition took a hit.

New NFL power rankings have Vikings sliding

Each week different publications put out power rankings to place a position on where teams should be considered amongst the competition. Early on the Minnesota Vikings didn’t have much momentum behind their hopes to win a championship. That changed heading to Dublin, but has since slid again.

There was clearly a consensus as to where the Vikings were going into the bye. Coming out of it the understanding is that other teams performed well enough to make Minnesota and afterthought while they remained out of action.

Although the Vikings did win against the Cleveland Browns in London, it wasn’t exactly a dominant performance. Their lone comfortable victory this season came against the Cincinnati Bengals and backup quarterback Jake Browning.

The two questions on everyone’s minds: 1) When will J.J. McCarthy return? 2) How much faith will the staff have in him when he does? The answer to No. 1 might be this Sunday against the Eagles, but it also won’t be stunning if McCarthy needs more time to heal. If Carson Wentz is the QB again, he’ll have a chance to beat his old team while it’s down, coming off two straight losses. The Week 6 bye came at a good time for the Vikings, who also should be getting RT Brian O’Neill, LB Blake Cashman and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel back over the coming weeks; the arrow is pointing upward. But as of right now, it’s hard to know where this team is, given the topsy-turvy start and the rash of injuries. 

Eric Edholm – NFL.com

The key to everything, as NFL.com’s Eric Edholm points out, is where Minnesota stands from an injury perspective going forward. If the return of multiple players this week can be a sign of positive momentum, and things to come, then they have a chance.

At one point it looked like the Minnesota Vikings next four games (vs PHI, @ LAC, @ DET, vs BAL) were going to be a gauntlet. That is less certain now, and if they go 2-2 or 3-1 in that stretch, they’ll remain in the thick of the playoff hunt.