Vikings vault to top spot in several Week 5 power rankings after 4-0 start

The Vikings have staked a claim for best team in the league after improving to 4-0

Sep 29, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) cheers as he leaves the field following the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Vikings have unquestionably vaulted into the conversation of being one of the best, if not the best, teams in the NFL after a 4-0 start. After beating the Packers 31-29, several of the national pundits have vaulted the Vikings to the No. 1 spot in their power rankings.

We have compiled a batch of rankings from several media sources and put them in one comprehensive list. Let's see where the Vikings and their NFC North foes rank after four weeks of football...

NFL.com - No. 1 (Up from No. 3)

The league website was the first of two power rankings to slot the Vikings into the top spot, with Eric Edholm noting that, "Past Vikings outfits might have coughed this one up, but this team showed toughness and reinforced the idea that it’s going to be a handful all season with the way things are going."

The Athletic - No. 1 (Up from No. 4)

Josh Kendall of The Athletic was the second of our sourced power rankings to put the Vikings in the top spot, calling Minnesota's 4-0 start the NFL's "most surprising" so far in 2024.

CBS Sports - No. 2 (Up from No. 3)

CBS said the Vikings are "rolling on both sides of the ball" but noted that the Vikings will be "challenged" this Sunday in London by the Jets.

ESPN - No. 2 (Up from No. 3)

The Vikings jumped up one spot in ESPN's rankings with Kevin Seifert calling Brian Flores' defense "one of the NFL's best stories this season." Seifert noted some potential concerns about age and growing snap counts already, but overall he believes there are "no glaring issues" with the team's defense.

Yahoo! - No. 2 (Up from No. 4)

Yahoo has the Vikings jumping up two spots, saying the team "couldn't have asked for a better start to the season." Duh.

SI.com - No. 3 (Up from No. 5)

SI's Connor Orr moved the Vikings up two spots in his rankings after Sunday's victory over the Packers. Orr stated it was good the Vikings felt pressure late in the narrow victory ahead of a game against a "undeniably desperate Jets team."

PFT - No. 3 (Up from No. 7)

One of the few holdouts of jumping on the Vikings bandwagon, PFT has seemingly caved, moving the Vikings up four spots to No. 3. Mike Florio wrote: "Between the players and the coaching on both sides of the ball, they've got the most balanced team in the league."

FOX Sports - No. 4 (Up from No. 11)

The biggest leap of the week comes from the last power ranking keeping the Vikings outside of the top 10. The Vikings jumped up seven spots in FOX Sports' power rankings to No. 4.

Division watch

After suffering the 31-29 loss to the Vikings, the Packers were the lone team in the NFC North to drop in the rankings. Detroit's statement win over previously undefeated Seattle keeps the Lions near the top of many power rankings. Meanwhile, the Bears settled some nerves with a 24-18 victory over the Rams.

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

Detroit Lions

Average ranking: 3.375 (Up from No. 4.57)
Highest: SI/PFT/FOX - No. 2
Lowest: The Athletic - No. 5

Green Bay Packers

Average ranking: 9.88 (Down from No. 7.86)
Highest: SI - No. 4
Lowest: Yahoo!/ESPN/FOX - No. 11

Chicago Bears

Average ranking: 19.25 (Up from No. 23.43)
Highest: CBS - No. 14
Lowest: NFL/PFT - No. 22