Vikings Fall Down NFL.com Pecking Order after Week 12 Loss
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings are right back in the middle of the NFL’s pecking order for power rankings. Well, Mike Zimmer’s bunch is on the upper crust of the middle.
After knocking off the most hated foe, the Green Bay Packers, in Week 11, the Vikings soared into the Top 10, checking it and #10 for NFL.com’s power rankings. But with a disappointing, mistake-riddled performance in San Francisco last weekend, Minnesota slid down to #14.
Weekly, Dan Hanzus authors NFL.com’s power rankings, and here’s his rationale for the Vikings dip to #14:
“The Vikings have shown they can beat anyone in the NFL when they’re on top of their game … but consistency continues to elude Mike Zimmer’s team. The Vikes jumped out to another seven-point lead on Sunday — they’ve done that in every game this season — but still found themselves on the wrong side of a one-score loss to the Niners, who now possess a potentially critical head-to-head tiebreaker in the race for a wild-card bid in the NFC. The injury news is bad, as well: Dalvin Cook was carted off with a shoulder injury and diagnosed Monday with a dislocation and torn labrum. Alexander Mattison is a quality backup, but an extended absence on Cook’s part will have a trickle-down effect on the entire operation.”
This is fair. Before each Vikings game in 2021, fans don’t know if they’ll get the team that defeated the Chargers on the road – or the squad that flatulated versus the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football at the end of October. The only mentality Vikings loyalists can possess this topsy-turvy season is to expect wackiness. Every game is close; every game is a forum for the Vikings to hold a 7+ point lead. In fact, Minnesota is the only team in the NFL to hold a 7+ point lead in every game this season.
They have a 5-6 record to show for it.
The Vikings are a lousy good-team – if that makes any sense.
Sharing pecking-order space with Minnesota? At #13, the Indianapolis Colts reside after turning around their 2021 campaign from an 0-3 start. Right below the Vikings are the Los Angeles Chargers, who Minnesota beat in Week 10.
For the metrics, the Vikings are all over the board. The defense is suddenly not very fearsome – probably due to injuries – while the offense improves bit by bit with bolder playcalling.
But hey, at least the special teams isn’t cellar-dwelling like 2020.
Finally for Minnesota, the schedule relents. To date, the Vikings squared off against a playoff team every week (sans the Lions and Seahawks). During the next three weeks, the Vikings match up against teams that will likely miss the postseason.
And even though this Sunday’s game is against the winless Detroit Lions, Minnesota must be ready. A loss would serve as the zenith of embarrassment, increase the calls for Mike Zimmer’s termination, and crucify the Vikings playoff hopes.
Altogether, the Vikings will be without players like Dalvin Cook, Danielle Hunter, Everson Griffen, Irv Smith Jr., and several maybes like Michael Pierce, Anthony Barr, and Christian Darrisaw.
That’s a lot of juice to play without, but Zimmer’s bunch should, on paper, still be victorious in Detroit. And they’re favored by a touchdown nonetheless.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
Also Read: The One for the Vikings That Got Away
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