Vikings Climb Into Top 5 of Cumulative NFL Power Rankings During Bye
· Yahoo Sports
The Minnesota Vikings are 5-0 and come out of their bye week atop the NFC North by two games and just one of three remaining undefeated NFL teams, along with the San Francisco 49ers (6-0) and Kansas City Chiefs (5-0).
Brian Flores’ defense is the biggest reason for the unbeaten start. The Vikings have allowed the fewest points in the league (12.8 per game) and are giving up just 259.8 yards per game.
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They are also tied for first in the NFL with a plus-6 turnover margin, and they have held opponents to a league-best 22 percent conversion rate on third down.
This is a Brian Flores appreciation post 🗣️ @InsideTheNFL | @Vikings https://t.co/aLJ8sy8rBO
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) October 21, 2026
Meanwhile, the offense still has plenty of work to do to pull itself out of the early hole of unproductivity it dug in weeks 1-4. Going into the weekend, Minnesota ranks 27th in total offense (283.0 yards per game) and 22nd in scoring (21.8 points per game).
Thankfully, the offense is expected to get healthier coming out of the bye, which is needed. Kyler Murray, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jordan Mason, Christian Darrisaw and T.J. Hockenson have all missed at least one time this season, and Kevin Seifert (ESPN), including the latter four last game in New Orleans (Hockenson left after two plays).
Minnesota Vikings Week 7 Power Rankings Roundup
While the Minnesota Vikings did not play last week, they did move up many of the national power rankings anyway, some multiple spots. Five of the ten rankings we track bumped them up, the other five held them in place. Nobody dropped them.
Here’s our Week 7 NFL power rankings roundup, which includes five featured rankings immediately below. Under those, you’ll find a table with the individual rank for all 10 media outlets built into the new Minnesota Vikings consensus (average) power rank, which comes in at 4.1, up over one full spot from last week.
USA Today – No. 3
No outlet moved the Vikings more than USA Today, which we called out last week for somehow keeping Minnesota at No. 9 — the same ranking it held after Week 4. Apparently, a week off was worth six spots in Nate Davis’ rankings this week…
3. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
Previous ranking: 9
Coming out of their bye week, they enter their Colts bye week. After that, the tests come fast and furious − the undefeated Vikes set to face opponents all currently above .500 through Christmas, the lone exception the formidable Falcons. — Nate Davis
ESPN – No. 4
ESPN moved the Vikings up two spots, from sixth to fourth. This week’s theme was each team’s biggest issue on offense. The aforementioned Vikings beat writer, Kevin Seifert, pointed to injuries.
4. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
Previous ranking: 6
Biggest issue on offense: Injuries across the board
The Vikings spent the five games before their bye searching for smooth air offensively. There were plenty of reasons for that, but the biggest was simply health-related personnel turnover. Players who have missed at least one game include quarterback Kyler Murray (concussion), receivers Justin Jefferson (ankle) and Jordan Addison (hamstring), running back Jordan Mason (finger), left tackle Christian Darrisaw (concussion), left guard Donovan Jackson (knee), and tight ends T.J. Hockenson (concussion) and Josh Oliver (biceps). All but Jackson and Oliver are expected to return next week. — Kevin Seifert
The Athletic – No. 4
Josh Kendall and Chad Graff held the Vikings at No. 4. Their blurb focused on Justin Jefferson’s fantasy production and Minnesota’s offensive numbers.
4. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
Previous ranking: 4
The folks who were nervous about drafting Jefferson in an uncertain offensive environment have been proven right so far. He is 16th among wide receivers in scoring (15.9 per game), and Minnesota probably spent its bye week wondering what everyone else is wondering: How is this team undefeated when it has the 29th-ranked offense in the league by EPA (minus-46.7)? — Josh Kendall and Chad Graff
Bleacher Report – No. 3
Bleacher Report’s experts kept the Vikings at No. 3. Gary Davenport wrote the Minnesota blurb, which credits the defense and looks ahead to games against the Lions and Bills.
3. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
Previous ranking: 3
There isn’t a more surprising team in the NFL this year (at least in a positive way) than the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.
Naysayers will point to a relatively easy schedule and offensive inconsistency as reasons why they aren’t as good their record. But Minnesota’s ultra-aggressive defense is legit: second in yards allowed, third against the pass, fifth against the run and first in points allowed.
That defense is going to be tested coming up—after facing the struggling Colts at home in Week 7, the Vikings take on two of the league’s best offenses in the Lions and Bills. — Gary Davenport
Fox Sports – No. 5
Ralph Vacchiano moved the Vikings up three spots, from eighth to fifth. He also noted the Vikings are 3-0 in one-score games this season.
5. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
Previous ranking: 8
I don’t know if their entry in the top five will finally make Vikings fans happy — or if anything I do actually can. Probably not, since they were off in Week 6 and only moved up because so many top-10 teams lost. Still, the Vikings are 5-0 and everyone in Minnesota thinks they belong at No. 1. But sorry, not with their pop-gun offense. Not yet. Maybe soon, if QB Kyler Murray continues what he started in Week 5 and generates more points on offense. If not, life for Minnesota will just be too hard the rest of the season, especially with six of its next seven opponents among the top half of the league in scoring. — Ralph Vacchiano
Minnesota Vikings Week 7 Power Rankings Roundup Table
OutletWk 7Rank
Prev.
Rank
ESPN46CBS Sports33USA Today39Sportsnaut44ProFootballTalk56The Athletic44Sports Illustrated77Bleacher Report33Fox Sports58Sporting News34
Related: Could Vikings Get Another Shot at Sam Darnold?
The 10 ranks in the table run from third at CBS Sports, USA Today, Bleacher Report and Sporting News to seventh at Sports Illustrated, with a median of 4. Nine of the 10 outlets now have Minnesota in their top five.
Add it up and the Vikings average a 4.1 cumulative ranking across the 10 outlets in this table, up from 5.4 last week.