NFL Power Rankings, Week 4: Are the Vikings Officially a Bottom-Ten Team?

The Vikings didn't move much in the Week 4 power rankings following a heartbreaking loss to the Titans.

The Vikings finally showed some signs of life last Sunday against the Titans. 

It was their best offensive performance of the season by far, with Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson recording huge games and Kirk Cousins throwing three touchdown passes to three different receivers. Defensively, Harrison Smith and Yannick Ngakoue made highlight plays and the Vikings stiffened on third down and in the red zone.

And yet, the result was the same: another loss. All of the good things the Vikings did were washed away by some late mistakes, a few defensive lapses, and an atrocious fourth-quarter performance from the interior of the offensive line. So what does that mean about this team? I'm not entirely sure.

Like we do every week, let's check in on the national power rankings and see where the Vikings fall. After ranking between 19th and 28th last week, I don't expect much change.

SI.com MMQB: No. 24 (Down 1 spot)

Kirk Cousins threw six interceptions in all of 2019. Three games into the 2020 season, he’s already matched that total. And so in Houston this week, two teams that were in the playoffs last season will meet, each searching for their first win a month into the season.

ESPN.com: No. 21 (Down 2 spots)

Although the Vikings did move Pat Elflein to right guard and had a competition between two former backups for the starting job at left guard, many anticipated the continuity of this group (i.e., settling on a starting five early in camp) would yield a better result than we've seen so far. Kirk Cousins experienced the third-highest pressure rate of his career (47 percent) against Tennessee, and Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia are among the worst-ranked guards (per PFF) in the NFL. This unit hasn't gotten better because its personnel has not gotten better.

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: No. 29 (Down 4 spots)

At 0-3, their season is basically over. They are terrible on defense, which is strange under Mike Zimmer.

Dan Hanzus, NFL.com: No. 20 (No change)

A crushing loss for the Vikings, who wasted a double-digit second-half lead at home to fall to 0-3. You can hang this latest setback on the defense, which allowed 444 yards, including 119 yards rushing to Derrick Henry and multiple deep-strike completions by Ryan Tannehill. Consider what the Vikings wasted: Dalvin Cook set a career high with 181 rushing yards and a score, while rookie first-round pick Justin Jefferson broke out with a monster 7/175/1 performance. To get those games and still find yourself winless entering Week 4 ... that's a tough pill to swallow. The loss sets up a "Loser Goes Home" match against the 0-3 Texans on Sunday in Houston.

Bleacher Report: No. 22 (Down 3 spots)

It is officially time to panic in the Twin Cities.For a time Sunday, it appeared the Vikings were going to stop the bleeding from their awful start. They led the undefeated Tennessee Titans by double digits in the second half.But Minnesota couldn't hold the lead, and when Kirk Cousins threw his second interception of the game to kill the last drive, the Vikings found themselves in an all-too-familiar spot this season—on the short end of the scoreboard.

Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: No. 25 (Down 2 spots)

Dalvin Cook looked great, the coaches finally let Justin Jefferson play, the offense had its best game, and they still lost at home. They're in a division with two 3-0 teams, and it's really hard to see Minnesota digging out of this hole.

Nate Davis, USA Today: No. 22 (Up 1 Spot)

Only Carolina has fewer sacks than Minnesota's three. With DE Danielle Hunter sorely missed, might be time for Mike Zimmer to ratchet up the blitz.

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: No. 28 (Down 4 spots)

The Vikings defense simply cannot stop anything that matters, whether it's run or pass. It's hard to believe that's a Mike Zimmer defense. The offense is expected to be flawless to compensate, and that's been far from the case for Kirk Cousins.

Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk: No. 30 (Down 2 spots)

Trevor Lawrence would look great in purple.

Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis. Also, click the follow button in the upper right-hand corner of this page (mobile users, tap the bell icon – you may have to click ‘News’ first), leave comments below, and follow me on Twitter.