Minnesota Vikings Week 4 Power Rankings Roundup

This past Sunday, we saw the Minnesota Vikings pick up another convincing victory, this one to the tune of 34-17 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As you’d expect, the experts across the interwebs have the Vikings moving upward in their rankings of the National Football League teams, but how far will they climb?

That’s what we’re finding out this week, as we take another spin around the net for this week’s Power Rankings Roundup. We’re back up to 12 sets of rankings, since I went ahead and added the Associated Press to our group. I like even numbers. It’s a thing. Anyway, here we go!

Associated Press: #10 (Last week: #15)

No Vikings-centric commentary provided by the AP

Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: #11 (Last week: #13)

Who knows where the Sam Bradford story goes, but it’s pretty clear the Vikings are a good team. Between Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph and Dalvin Cook, Minnesota has some explosive playmakers for whoever is at quarterback.

Chris Simms, Bleacher Report: #7 (Last week: #12)

Case Keenum deserves a lot of credit. He played well for the Vikings in Week 2 but struggled to find the end zone. In Week 3 against the Buccaneers, though, he was on point.

The Vikings don't have superstar receivers, but they have a group of really good ones. Keenum was able to take advantage of guys like Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, making great throws all over the field.

The offensive line is much better than it was last year, and we saw that in the passing game Sunday. We also saw it in the run game, as the line consistently opened holes for Dalvin Cook.

The Minnesota defense continues to show that it's special. When clicking, this defense can match up with any offense in the league. It boasts a great secondary, a solid front four and perhaps the most athletic linebacker duo in the NFL in Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks.

Walter Cherepinsky, Walter Football: #10 (Last week: #13)

I still don't understand how Sam Bradford is hurt. He never suffered an injury in the Saints game. It's like a gust of wind shattered his knee. It's unbelievable. The good news is that the Vikings have a new plan to keep Bradford safe.

By the way, I have to say that I'm saddened by what happened in the NFL this weekend. I don't know if I want to watch professional football anymore. A football world where Case Keenum blows out a potential playoff team is not something I want to be a part of.

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: #7 (Last week: #16)

Mike Zimmer has done a great job so far with this team. Case Keenum looked really good against Tampa Bay.

USA Today: #13 (Last week: #17)

The old adage that 'when you have three quarterbacks, you really have none' doesn't apply here ... unless Teddy Bridgewater can't return in 2017.

ESPN: #11 (Last week: #16)

Case Keenum: 75.8 Total QBR. Keenum posted a 94.6 Total QBR in Week 3, the best single-game QBR of the season. Sam Bradford posted a 92.0 QBR in Week 1, the third best of the season. The Vikings are rolling no matter the quarterback right now, and that will need to continue with three straight division games coming up.

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: #11 (Last week: #16)

Case Keenum came to the rescue with a lot more preparation as the Vikings' short-term starter. But Dalvin Cook and the defense are still the bread and butter of their playoff chances no matter who's QB.

This week: vs. Lions, an early battle for kings in the North

MMQB, Sports Illustrated: #10 (Last week: #17)

No Vikings-centric commentary provided by MMQB

SB Nation: #14 (Last week: #18)

No Vikings-centric commentary provided by SB Nation

Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: #9 (Last week: #17)

Raise your hand if you thought Case Keenum was going to ball out against the Bucs. Holy Andre Ware and Kevin Kolb, Keenum was the difference on Sunday, keeping drives going to not only push the Minnesota offense, but provide Mike Zimmer's defense with a blow on the sideline. Keenum's unbelievable line: 25 of 33 for 369 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, a career day for the former University of Houston Cougar and Houston Texan. For longtime Vikings fans, Keenum's effort standing in for Sam Bradford reminded me of when Wade Wilson took over for Tommy Kramer and proceeded to lead Jerry Burns' group all the way to the 1987 NFC Championship Game. Thirty years later, and the Vikes are one of the better teams in the conference.

Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: #14 (Last week: #17)

When a team has two quarterbacks, it has none. When it has three, maybe it can make the playoffs.

Well, there’s a few single-digit rankings out of the collective this week. The average of the 12 sets of rankings that we have here is right around 10.5 for this week, so the purple is right on the cusp of being a legitimate top ten team. They’ll take a much bigger bounce up if they can knock off their division rivals from Detroit on Sunday. . .a Lions’ team that’s ranked higher than them in just about every set of Power Rankings you can find out there.

Here’s a look at the chart for this week. Gotta love that sharp upward move as you go towards the right-hand side, huh? I tried to make the “Average” line stand out a little bit so it doesn’t get hidden in the rest of the data.

That’s the Roundup for this week, folks. We’ll be back at this time next week for another spin.