Vikings still a top-5 team in consensus Week 8 power rankings

Minnesota still remains a contender despite their first loss of the season

Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks on during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

For the first time this season the Vikings lost a game, 31-29 to the Lions. The Vikings, unsurprisingly, dropped in this week's rankings after the loss. However, their drop wasn't as far as could have been expected. In fact, only one power ranker (ESPN) had the Vikings drop out of their top-5.

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

The Athletic - No. 3 (Last week: No. 1)

All of a sudden the Vikings' resume is coming into question with the 49ers floundering.

"How many good wins are we giving the Vikings credit for with the 49ers looking iffy," writes The Athletic's Josh Kendall, who dropped Minnesota two spots this week. "Honestly, Sunday’s loss to the Lions may have been Minnesota’s second-best showing."

NFL.com - No. 4 (Last week: No. 1)

Eric Edholm expressed that it should be "a little concerning" that the Vikings were able to move the ball with relative ease through the middle portion of Sunday's game. However, he states that "in no way, shape or form" should the loss be discrediting because of the opponent they lost to being a Super Bowl contender.

CBS Sports - No. 4 (Last week: No. 2)

Pete Prisco, in dropping the Vikings down two spots, chalks up the Vikings' loss to the fact that "in large part" Minnesota's defense "wasn't as good" as it has been in earlier games this season.

Yahoo! - No. 4 (Last week: No. 2)

"You shouldn’t downgrade the Vikings much," said Yahoo's Frank Schwab. He cautioned about not turning one loss into more with a quick turnaround against the Rams on Thursday.

FOX Sports - No. 4 (Last week: No. 2)

David Helman said that even in a loss the Vikings proved "they belong in the contender class" adding that it took the Lions "every bit of 60 minutes to knock them off."

PFT - No. 4 (Last week: No. 3)

Florio dropped the Vikings down just one spot while asking, "Can they recover from losing to the Lions before Thursday night?"

SI.com - No. 5 (Last week: No. 3)

Connor Orr dropped the Vikings two spots but wrote that it "should not be any disrespect" because Minnesota lost to a "great team also at their best."

ESPN - No. 6 (Last week: No. 2)

The Vikings lowest ranking, and biggest move, this week comes from ESPN, who dropped Minnesota down four spots after the loss. ESPN focused on one 'young riser' on each squad and Kevin Seifert pointed out rookie kicking sensation Will Reichard as the Vikings' 'young riser.'

Division Watch

Detroit, already considered among the top teams in the NFL, moved up by way of the Vikings dropping down after Sunday's loss to the Lions. The Packers squeked out a big victory themselves, in a 24-22 win over the Texans. Chicago were off on a bye week as they returned from London.

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. 1.75 (Last week: No. 3.25)
Highest ranking: PFT/SI/Athletic - 1
Lowest ranking: NFL - 3

Green Bay Packers

Average ranking: No. 5.625 (Last week: No. 7)
Highest ranking: ESPN/PFT/CBS/Athletic - 5
Lowest ranking: SI - 7

Chicago Bears

Average ranking: No. 12.125 (Last week: No. 12.875)
Highest ranking: CBS - 8
Lowest ranking: ESPN/PFT - 14