Where we rate the Vikings in our Week 7 power rankings

It’s taken some time but most of the power rankings around the internet have the Minnesota Vikings in the top five. Shockingly, the Green Bay Packers continue to sit in the top 10 despite rickety performance after rickety performance. That’s the Aaron Rodgers Effect. 

In our Week 7 power rankings, the Vikings jumped from No. 7 to No. 4, trailing only the Bills, Eagles and Chiefs. But it’s fairly obvious that there is a massive gap between the top three teams and the rest of the NFL, including the Vikings. It’s like there are three great teams and about 20 middling teams followed by nine or ten awful clubs. 

In fact, The Athletic’s power rankings leave No. 4 vacant, saying: “There is such a massive dropoff between the top three teams in the league and everyone else that no one deserves to be ranked fourth.”

Anyway, the Vikings are 4th on NFL.com (Packers 15th), 4th on SI’s MMQB (Packers 5th), 6th on Pro Football Talk (Packers 10th) and 7th on The Athletic (Packers 17th). 

Here’s our rankings (previous week’s ranking in parenthesis):

1. (2) Buffalo Bills (5-1) – Won at Arrowhead and held Mahomes to 20 points. 
2. (3) Philadelphia Eagles (6-0) – That secondary is scary-good. 
3. (1) Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) – There aren’t many really good teams in the NFL. 
4. (7) Minnesota Vikings (5-1) – If they can put together 4 quarters, watch out. 
5. (10) New York Giants (5-1) – Titans, Packers and Ravens found out… 
6. (6) Dallas Cowboys (4-2) – Philly might be the toughest venue in the NFL. 
7. (9) Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) – Time for the NFL to dump Thursday games?
8. (15) New York Jets (4-2) – Time to believe after winning at Lambeau?
9. (4) Baltimore Ravens (3-3) – They should be 6-0 but the defense has failed late.
10. (5) San Francisco 49ers (4-2) – Falcons may have the blueprint to beat their D. 
11. (8) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) – Losing at Pittsburgh? Maybe they are bad. 
12. (12) Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) – The AFC champs might be hitting stride. 
13. (13) Tennessee Titans (3-2) – Riding a win streak fresh off their bye week.
14. (14) Los Angeles Rams (3-3) – A much-needed bye for the defending champs. 
15. (11) Miami Dolphins (3-3) – Back to form with Tua Tagovailoa’s return?
16. (16) Green Bay Packers (3-3) – How’s that Christian Watson pick working out?
17. (21) Atlanta Falcons (3-3) – Proving to be a dangerous team. 
18. (19) New England Patriots (3-3) – Bailey Zappe about to steal Mac Jones’s job?
19. 22) Seattle Seahawks (3-3) – Need to beat a good team to prove their worth. 
20. (18) New Orleans Saints (2-4) – Dangerous team that plays everyone tough.
21. 26) Indianapolis Colts (3-2-1) – Huge game Sunday at Tennessee.
22. (17) Arizona Cardinals (2-4) – Kyler Murray and the Cardinals look awful. 
23. (23) Las Vegas Raiders (1-4) – Haven’t found a way to win close games yet. 
24. (24) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4) – Three straight losses and the free fall is on. 
25. 20) Cleveland Browns (2-4) – Getting trucked by the Patriots is a bad look. 
26. (25) Chicago Bears (2-4) – They’re not close to being a contender. 
27. (27) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) – How they beat the Bucs is a great mystery. 
28. (28) Detroit Lions (1-4) – They needed the bye but it may not matter anymore. 
29. (29) Denver Broncos (2-3) – Russell Wilson’s teammates might hate him. 
30. (30) Houston Texans (1-3-1) – Yuck. 
31. (31) Washington Commanders (1-4) – Yucky. 
32. (32) Carolina Panthers (1-4) – Yuckiest. 

Related: Vikings, Packers face difficult roads in NFC North race

Related: Vikings’ Adam Thielen: ‘When it does click, watch out’