This time, I ranked and awarded points (like fantasy baseball standings) in these categories: W-L%, Point Differential, W% vs. teams that are .500 or better (quality opponents) so far, % of games vs. quality opponents, and then added the # of wins vs. quality opponents. The results may surprise you.
| Tm | W | L | W-L% | W% Pts | PtDif | PD Pts | QW | QL | QW-L % | Q% Pts | QG/10 | QG/10 Pts | Rank Pts |
| 1. Indianapolis Colts | 10 | 0 | 100% | 31.5 | 112 | 29.0 | 6 | 0 | 100% | 31.5 | 60% | 18.5 | 116.50 |
| 2. San Diego Chargers | 7 | 3 | 70% | 27.0 | 64 | 27.0 | 4 | 3 | 57% | 24.5 | 70% | 27.0 | 109.50 |
| 3. Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 3 | 70% | 27.0 | 48 | 22.0 | 5 | 2 | 71% | 28.0 | 70% | 27.0 | 109.00 |
| 4. New Orleans Saints | 10 | 0 | 100% | 31.5 | 165 | 32.0 | 4 | 0 | 100% | 31.5 | 40% | 5.5 | 104.50 |
| 5. New England Patriots | 7 | 3 | 70% | 27.0 | 126 | 31.0 | 3 | 2 | 60% | 26.5 | 50% | 11.5 | 99.00 |
| 6. Minnesota Vikings | 9 | 1 | 90% | 30.0 | 113 | 30.0 | 3 | 1 | 75% | 29.5 | 40% | 5.5 | 98.00 |
| 7. Baltimore Ravens | 5 | 5 | 50% | 16.5 | 66 | 28.0 | 2 | 5 | 29% | 19.0 | 70% | 27.0 | 92.50 |
| 8. Denver Broncos | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21.5 | -13 | 14.0 | 4 | 3 | 57% | 24.5 | 70% | 27.0 | 91.00 |
| 9. Arizona Cardinals | 7 | 3 | 70% | 27.0 | 53 | 23.0 | 3 | 1 | 75% | 29.5 | 40% | 5.5 | 88.00 |
| 10. Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 70% | 27.0 | 56 | 24.0 | 2 | 3 | 40% | 23.0 | 50% | 11.5 | 87.50 |
| 11. New York Giants | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21.5 | 31 | 20.0 | 2 | 4 | 33% | 22.0 | 60% | 18.5 | 84.00 |
| 12. Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21.5 | 47 | 21.0 | 3 | 2 | 60% | 26.5 | 50% | 11.5 | 83.50 |
| 13. New York Jets | 4 | 6 | 40% | 12.0 | 24 | 18.0 | 2 | 5 | 29% | 19.0 | 70% | 27.0 | 78.00 |
| 14. Carolina Panthers | 4 | 6 | 40% | 12.0 | -46 | 9.0 | 2 | 5 | 29% | 19.0 | 70% | 27.0 | 69.00 |
| 15. Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21.5 | 62 | 26.0 | 1 | 3 | 25% | 15.0 | 40% | 5.5 | 69.00 |
| 16. Tennessee Titans | 4 | 6 | 40% | 12.0 | -63 | 8.0 | 2 | 5 | 29% | 19.0 | 70% | 27.0 | 68.00 |
| 17. Green Bay Packers | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21.5 | 59 | 25.0 | 1 | 3 | 25% | 15.0 | 40% | 5.5 | 68.00 |
| 18. Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 5 | 50% | 16.5 | 24 | 18.0 | 1 | 4 | 20% | 13.5 | 50% | 11.5 | 60.50 |
| 19. Oakland Raiders | 3 | 7 | 30% | 7.0 | -126 | 4.0 | 2 | 5 | 29% | 19.0 | 70% | 27.0 | 59.00 |
| 20. San Francisco 49ers | 4 | 6 | 40% | 12.0 | -2 | 15.5 | 1 | 5 | 17% | 11.0 | 60% | 18.5 | 58.00 |
| 21. Houston Texans | 5 | 5 | 50% | 16.5 | 24 | 18.0 | 1 | 3 | 25% | 15.0 | 40% | 5.5 | 56.00 |
| 22. Chicago Bears | 4 | 6 | 40% | 12.0 | -19 | 13.0 | 1 | 5 | 17% | 11.0 | 60% | 18.5 | 55.50 |
| 23. Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 7 | 30% | 7.0 | -70 | 7.0 | 1 | 6 | 14% | 9.5 | 70% | 27.0 | 51.50 |
| 24. Seattle Seahawks | 3 | 7 | 30% | 7.0 | -37 | 10.0 | 1 | 5 | 17% | 11.0 | 60% | 18.5 | 47.50 |
| 25. Miami Dolphins | 5 | 5 | 50% | 16.5 | -2 | 15.5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | 3.5 | 50% | 11.5 | 47.00 |
| 26. Washington Redskins | 3 | 7 | 30% | 7.0 | -32 | 12.0 | 1 | 4 | 20% | 13.5 | 50% | 11.5 | 45.00 |
| 27. TB Buccaneers | 1 | 9 | 10% | 2.0 | -130 | 3.0 | 1 | 6 | 14% | 9.5 | 70% | 27.0 | 42.50 |
| 28. Jacksonville Jaguars | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21.5 | -36 | 11.0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 3.5 | 20% | 1.0 | 37.00 |
The bottom 4, of course, are CLE, BUF, DET, and STL which have comprised 40% of the Vikings' schedule so far. If one were to assume that these are exactly correct and that they remain in very nearly the same order at season's end, then 3/4 of the Vikings' schedule will have been vs. the lower half of the league.
It will be interesting to see if Cedric Benson is back for the Bengals by the time the Vikings play them. If not, I'll be doubly excited every time a Viking defender puts a major hurt on that low-life punk named Larry Johnson. I hope that turns out to be a good game in any case because the Vikings definitely need practice playing against a real team or two.
Many thanks to Pro-Football-Reference.com for all of its helpful and fun information.
Poll
On a scale of 1 to 5, how accurate do you think these rankings are?
1. Easily the least accurate I've ever seen. (8 votes)
2. Not the worst, but these are terrible. (13 votes)
3. Not the worst and more interesting than most, but c'mon. (22 votes)
4. Accurate for the most part, but who cares about ___ (specify in comments, please)? (1 vote)
5. A power ranking system that actually cares about strength of schedule and quality wins? It's about time! (6 votes)
50 total votes
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