Vikings climbing back up consensus power rankings after win over Colts

After two straight losses, Minnesota corrected course with a 21-13 win over the Colts on Sunday

Nov 3, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react during the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Vikings got back in the win column and have started their climb back up the power rankings. After falling to as low as No. 10 in a couple power rankings last week, the Vikings have bumped up to an average ranking of 6.875.

Here are a collection of power rankings from across the NFL media landscape...

SI.com - No. 6 (Last week: No. 6)

The Vikings remained at No. 6 in Connor Orr's power rankings. After improving to 6-2 on the year, Orr appears to be all-in on Vikings QB Sam Darnold, appearing to be baffled at why the Vikings would be "hell-bent" on transitioning to J.J. McCarthy next season.

NFL.com - No. 6 (Last week: No. 7)

Minnesota moved up one spot in the league's power rankings, with Eric Edholm noting the win over the Colts "marked a return to form for the Vikings' defense."

FOX Sports - No. 6 (Last week: No. 7)

Sunday's victory was "not the prettiest win of the season" for the Vikings, according to David Helman, but Darnold's bounce back and Cam Robinson's solid debut provide hope for the rest of the season.

ESPN - No. 6 (Last week: No. 9)

The Vikings took the biggest leap of the week in ESPN's power rankings, moving up three spots after Sunday's win. Kevin Seifert noted that the most important game remaining on the schedule for the Vikings appears to be the Week 18 showdown with the Lions.

The Athletic - No. 7 (Last week: No. 8)

Moving up the Vikings just one spot in his power rankings, Josh Kendall noted that, unsurprisingly, Justin Jefferson is leading the league in receiving yards (783) and that his 16.3 yards per reception leads all receivers with more than 35 catches.

CBS Sports - No. 7 (Last week: No. 9)

Pete Prisco noted the Vikings defense "got back on track" in Sunday's win over the Colts and that should be the "team's calling card" for the remainder of the season.

PFT - No. 8 (Last week: No. 10)

Mike Florio bumped the Vikings up two spots this week, saying that with three "winnable" road games coming up (Jacksonville, Tennessee, Chicago), Minnesota has "a chance to keep pace with the Lions."

Yahoo! - No. 9 (Last week: No. 10)

Frank Schwab is the winner for lowest ranking of the week, having the Vikings at No. 9, which is up just one spot from last week. Schwab reasonsed that Sunday's win was a "needed rebound" after two straight losses.

Division watch

The Lions gritted out a tough win over the Packers as they, once again, established themselves as the absolute class of the NFC. Meanwhile, the Bears appear to be fading after getting thumped by the Cardinals.

Below shows where NFC North teams rank in the compilation of power rankings. We've averaged out the rankings into one number for clarity.

Detroit Lions

Average ranking: No. 1.375 (Last week: No. 1.5)
Highest ranking: The Athletic/NFL/Yahoo/PFT/SI - No. 1
Lowest ranking: CBS/FOX/ESPN - No. 2

Green Bay Packers

Average ranking: No. 7.625 (Last week: No. 4.25)
Highest ranking: The Athletic - No. 6
Lowest ranking: PFT - No. 9

Chicago Bears

Average ranking: No. 18.5 (Last week: No. 15)
Highest ranking: FOX - No. 15
Lowest ranking: The Athletic/PFT/ESPN - No. 20