Vikings Power Rankings Round-Up: Taking The Plunge

After their third loss in four games, the drop of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Power Rankings across the internet has started in earnest.

As usual, we start with the rankings from the folks at SB Nation, where the Vikings have dropped two spots, moving them from #11 to #13.

We were all fooled by the Vikings. After a 4-1 start, the Vikings have lost three of four and Christian Ponder looks like a bad quarterback.

I'd love to argue this, but. . .wait, no I wouldn't. Looking around the NFC North, the Chicago Bears are in at #3 in this week's rankings, the Green Bay Packers are at #7, and the Detroit Lions are at #16.

Next, we'll move on to Fox Sports, where the Vikings' drop is a little more precipitous. They've gone down four notches in these rankings, going from #11 to #15.

The Vikings have outplayed expectations so far this year, but it was probably asking too much of them to keep up that pace for the entire season.

Yeah, it probably was. Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted. Fox has the Bears at #3, the Packers at #4, and the Lions at #12.

On to Pete Prisco at CBS Sports next, who also moves the Vikings down four spots, putting them at #17 this week.

They are falling fast. What has happened to Christian Ponder? He has thrown for less than 75 yards in two of the past three weeks.

I believe the observations about the quarterback situations denote a bit of a trend. But you knew that already. CBS has Chicago at #2, Green Bay at #5, and Detroit at #18.

Next, we move on to NFL.com, where they have moved the Vikings down three notches to #15. They take the time to talk about a part of the team that's struggling. . .and it's not the quarterback.

The Minnesota Vikings have been making opposing quarterbacks look like Hall of Famers lately. Over the last two weeks, opponents have thrown six touchdown passes with no picks and a 115.5 passer rating. Compounding the problem is the absence of a pass rush. After totaling 22 sacks over the first seven games, the Vikings have compiled two sacks in the last two. Not good.

Hey, maybe every problem this team has isn't named "Christian Ponder." Who would have thought? NFL.com has Chicago at #3, Green Bay at #5, and Detroit at #12.

Lastly for this round-up, we go to ESPN. Predictably, they've given the Vikings the biggest drop, moving them down five spots to #16.

Adrian Peterson is a brilliantly rebuilt bionic monster, but the Vikings aren't going far without better QB play.

Well, at least they noticed Adrian Peterson. That was nice of them. The four-letter has Chicago at #3, Green Bay at #6, and Detroit at #14.

That does it for this week's Power Rankings Round-Up. As always, you can add any other rankings you want in the comments or discuss the ones that are here.