NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: For Vikings, It All Comes Down to These 3 Weeks
It all comes down to these three weeks for the Vikings.
It's been a crazy season. For the first time in franchise history, four different quarterbacks have started a game for Minnesota (all since Week 8). Justin Jefferson and Jordan Hicks and other key players have also missed time. Through it all, the Vikings have gone 7-7 with zero losses by more than a touchdown, despite having the third-most turnovers in the NFL.
They also have six one-score wins, of course, but it's not difficult to imagine a world where the Vikings have nine or even ten victories at this point. That's how slim the margins have been in most of their defeats. The skill position talent is excellent and Brian Flores' defense has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. Even with no Kirk Cousins, this feels like a team that could pull off a postseason upset.
They just have to get there. Everything is on the line over the next three games, which come against the rival Lions (twice) and Packers. It should be a fun final sprint.
Let's check in on this week's national power rankings to see what various analysts thought of the Vikings' gut-wrenching loss in Cincinnati.
Conor Orr, SI.com: No. 19 (Up 1 spot)
Nick Mullens channeled fellow Southern Miss alum Brett Favre on a go-ahead touchdown to Jordan Addison that was completely wild on Saturday. I don’t know if he should be the team’s permanent (for this season) starting quarterback, but I do know that his fun-to-results ratio is slightly higher than that of anyone else on Minnesota’s roster. Keep on slinging it.
Josh Kendall, The Athletic: No. 19 (Down 1 spot)
Surprise: The Justin Jefferson mystery
In the seven games Jefferson has played, he’s averaging 97.43 receiving yards per game, which ranks behind only Tyreek Hill. However, after Saturday, Minnesota is 2-5 when he’s in the lineup. In games Jefferson has missed because of injury, the Vikings are 5-2. Nick Mullens became the fourth quarterback to start a game for Minnesota on Saturday. He threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns but also had two interceptions.
Eric Edholm, NFL.com: No. 18 (Down 1 spot)
The standings and schedule seem to suggest that the Vikings have a statistically decent chance of making the postseason. But the quarterback regression is undeniable now; even Kevin O’Connell has called it a “week-to-week” operation, and I know exactly what he means. Joshua Dobbs gave the team a jolt, and then he crashed. Nick Mullens started Saturday and looked poised to deliver a huge road win. Instead, he finished with two picks deep in Cincinnati territory (one to a 311-pound defensive tackle) and should have thrown a pick-six, but the Bengals jumped offsides. That and a strange, late collapse by Minnesota’s vastly improved defense did the Vikings in. This team sure could use a guy like Jake Browning! (Different context, but this joke reminds me of the line from Major League when the pitching coach says, “Wish we had him two years ago,” to which the GM responds: “We did.”)
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: No. 14 (No change)
It's disheartening to lose when Nick Mullens played well, Ty Chandler went off and the Vikings outplayed the Bengals for three quarters. The good news, though, is Mullens did throw for more than 300 yards and despite some bad mistakes, he looked serviceable. Minnesota is still on track to make the playoffs.
Bleacher Report Staff: No. 19 (No change)
Saturday in Cincinnati, the Vikings rolled out their fourth starting quarterback of the season. And while the name on the back of the jersey was different, the result was the same—and after dropping three of four, Minnesota's postseason aspirations are fading.
Now the Vikings are left with essentially no margin for error if they want to head back to the postseason. And with two of the team's final three games against the NFC North-leading Lions, Minnesota faces an uphill climb.
ESPN Staff: No. 18 (No change)
We're No. 1 ... in blitz rate.
Under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings have sent five or more pass-rushers on 45.7% of opposing dropbacks. The league-wide average is 26.3%, and the next-closest team is the Giants at 39.3%. The heavy blitzing has been largely effective for a team that entered the season with only one proven pass-rusher (linebacker Danielle Hunter ranks second in the league with 15.5 sacks). The Vikings rank among the NFL's top five in most defensive statistics but have recently given up some late leads when teams have exploited the unusual zone coverages behind the heavy rush. — Kevin Seifert
The Ringer Staff: No. 19 (Up 2 spots)
Minnesota remains an NFC wild-card contender, but in his first game as the team’s starting QB, Nick Mullens didn’t look much better than Joshua Dobbs has over the past few weeks. Mullens made some big plays and tough throws, but also made risky choices that led to bad turnovers. Two of the Vikings’ three remaining games are against the Lions, and the other is against the Packers. If Minnesota can finish the season at 9-8, there’s a 98 percent chance they’ll make the playoffs. But if they lose two of those three games, they’ll be on the outside looking in. — Ben Solak
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: No. 14 (Up 1 spot)
What happened to the defense against the Bengals? Now they face a big game against the Lions, a team we know can score.
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk: No. 18 (Down 2 spots)
The sooner they forget about Saturday, the sooner they can get things back on track before the clock strikes 12.
David Helman, FOX Sports: No. 19 (Down 2 spots)
It's wild to think how close the Vikings might be to a miracle playoff spot if they could master the quarterback sneak. And still, with two games to play against Detroit, you can’t completely write them off yet.
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