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Once again, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to take a look around these vast interwebs of ours and see what the "expert" types out there think about the Minnesota Vikings and what sort of progress they're making this season. As a team coming off of their second straight victory, you would expect a continued upward trend for our favorite football team and, for the most part, that's what's happening this week.
Here is the numerical version of this week's data:
| Average Ranking (Number of Rankings) | 21.25 (8) |
| Average Change from Last Week | +1.375 |
| Highest Ranking (Source) | 21 (6 different sources) |
| Lowest Ranking (Source) | 22 (Prisco/ESPN) |
| Biggest Positive/Smallest Negative Change (Source) | +3 (NFL.com/USA Today) |
| Largest Negative/Smallest Positive Change (Source) | -1 (Fox Sports) |
And here is your graphic representation that still, for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, can not be embiggened.
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Wow. . .that's a whole lot of 21s there. Damn shame we aren't in Vegas.
So, what are folks saying? Let's take a look at the roundup.
SB Nation: 21st (Last week: 21st)
No team-specific commentary
SI.com: N/A (Last week: 22nd)
Insert my complaining about SI.com here.
Fox Sports: 21st (Last week: 20th)
Teddy Bridgewater may have found his new favorite weapon in Charles Johnson. Bridgewater continues to improve in a different area in each week, and the defense has really grasped Mike Zimmer's scheme.
(Well, that doesn't explain why you felt the need to drop them a spot. Seriously.)
USA Today: 21st (Last week: 24th)
Who would have guessed three months ago that their most effective receivers would be Charles Johnson and Jarius Wright?
Yahoo! Shutdown Corner: 21st (Last week: 23rd)
Charles Johnson, who was signed off the Browns' practice squad in September, is the playmaker the Vikings were hoping for when they took Cordarrelle Patterson in the first round in 2013. Funny.
Pat Kirwan, CBS Sports: 21st (Last week: 21st)
Teddy Bridgewater is a rookie learning as he goes, but he has started in five wins and that's a strong statement for the future. He is 4-2 in his last six games and in the last two games has completion percentage over 70. The next two games are on the road and a great test for Bridgewater.
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 22nd (Last week: 24th)
Some of the young players are growing up, including Teddy Bridgewater. They've won two straight.
NFL.com: 21st (Last week: 24th)
Big ups to the Vikings. Entering this season, not sure a lot of people would have put them at 6-7 at this stage of the season, not with Minnesota playing in the NFC North. In fact, I think most analysts had them at 6-10 for the year. Kudos to first-year coach Mike Zimmer.
On another front, even the most ardent Vikings supporter ( #SKOL) has to laugh at the idea that Teddy Bridgewater was "clutch" for "throwing the winning touchdown pass." Dude, it was a bubble screen that Lucas could've completed. Calm down, announcers.
ESPN: 22nd (Last week: 24th)
Teddy Bridgewater's 87-yard touchdown pass to Jarius Wright was the third-longest offensive overtime touchdown in NFL history. Minnesota is 4-0-1 in its past five overtime games, including three straight wins.
So, as I said, the Vikings are moving up, for the most part. If they should walk into Detroit on Sunday and get themselves a victory over a Lions' team that is fighting for a playoff spot and a first round bye, I would expect the upward trend to accelerate significantly.