The Minnesota Vikings are now sitting at 6-2 going into the second half of the season which begins with three consecutive road games starting on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Looking forward at the halfway point, the National Football League power rankings give a good synopsis of what the media thinks of the Vikings. Right now, they aren't quite a top-five team but everyone has enough faith to have them inside the top five.
ESPN's NFL Nation
Last week: 9
This week: 6
Most important game remaining: Week 17 vs. the Packers
At this point, the Lions are in the driver's seat in the NFC North. The Vikings have already lost to them once, and they have a worse conference record if it comes to that tiebreaker. But beating the Packers, and sweeping the season series, could well be key to them securing a wild-card berth. The Vikings have already won at Lambeau Field and would presumably have the advantage in the second matchup as well. -- Kevin Seifert
Yahoo! Sports' Frank Schwab
Last week: 10
This week: 9
Sunday was a needed rebound, but the Vikings didn’t look great especially on offense. Sam Darnold can’t get into a turnover slump. He had three bad ones against the Colts. That’s been his issue through his career, and seeing him revert to that version of himself was troubling.
CBS Sports' Pete Prisco
Last week: 9
This week: 7
The defense got back on track against the Colts after a few tough weeks. That will be this team's calling card in the second half of the season.
NFL.com's Eric Edholm
Last week: 7
This week: 6
Sunday night's win over the Colts marked a return to form for the Vikings' defense to the level we'd seen prior to their Week 6 bye. Brian Flores' unit hounded Joe Flacco and Jonathan Taylor, picking off Flacco for the team's 13th interception of the season, which is a terrific total through eight games. They allowed the Colts a mere six offensive points, all on field goals, with Indianapolis' only touchdown coming on a (controversial) scoop and score. Sam Darnold coughed that one up, and he had a seriously up-and-down game. Ultimately, his three-TD second half proved to be enough; until then, the defense buoyed the team while the offense stalled. There likely was some adjustment around the arrival of Cam Robinson, who took over at left tackle with less than a week's worth of practice, but Darnold's play has flatlined recently. They'll need him to pick things back up as the Vikings hit the road for the duration of November.
USA Today's Nate Davis
Last week: 4
This week: 5
This is no inconsequential bridge season with QB Sam Darnold. Management has sent a very clear signal it's committed to winning now after importing LT Cam Robinson and RB Cam Akers to patch some holes. And getting T.J. Hockenson back into the lineup Sunday night is akin to making a major move … which Minnesota did for the Pro Bowl tight end two years ago.
The Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer
Last week: 9
This week: 8
The Vikings rebounded from their two-game skid by ripping into the Colts at home with their swarming defense and Sam Darnold overcoming a rough night with clutch pass plays.
Bleacher Report's NFL Staff
Last week: 8
This week: 6
"The Vikings are 6-2, but with each passing week, my confidence in them as a legitimate Super Bowl contender wanes. That's because Sam Darnold is starting to poke out of Sam Darnold.
"Minnesota has no shortage of offensive firepower. Adding Cam Robinson at left tackle was a smart move. And Minnesota's aggressive defense was all over the Colts on Sunday night.
"But Darnold turning the ball over brings back far too many unpleasant memories. If he keeps it up, the Vikings aren't beating teams like the Lions, the Eagles or even the Commanders." -- Gary Davenport
Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr
Last week: 6
This week: 6
I am still blown away that, at the end of this game, Mike Tirico queued up Cris Collinsworth to say with absolute certainty that Sam Darnold will not be the quarterback of this team in 2025. Obviously, that’s why you draft J.J. McCarthy, but that revelation went largely unnoticed amid a Sunday Night Football victory. Darnold is good! We don’t know how McCarthy is healing! We don’t know, really, anything about him at all. Why is this team so hell-bent on hitting the rookie contract advantage when success is already here at this moment?
The Ringer's Diante Lee
Last week: 9
This week: 9
The Colts defense has been one of the league’s worst all season long, giving up explosive plays and struggling to affect the quarterback against everyone they’ve played. For Indianapolis to pick Darnold off twice and get a touchdown from a strip sack speaks to all of Darnold’s old bad habits— asinine decisions and poor accuracy—cropping up over the last few weeks.
For this team to have mustered 21 points in spite of Darnold’s play speaks to the singular force that is Justin Jefferson, and Sunday night was another showcase of his playmaking and the subsequent gravity he has on the field. The all-time wide receivers list is a tough one to crack, but Jefferson is well on his way to joining that conversation.
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio
Last week: 10
This week: 8
With three winnable road games, they have a chance to keep pace with the Lions.
The Athletic's Josh Kendall
Last week: 8
This week: 7
Something nice: Justin Jefferson’s arm
Yes, his arm. Jefferson notched a 118.8 passer rating Sunday night with a 22-yard completion on a double pass that required him to throw the ball 40 yards across the field to Aaron Jones. He’s also leading the league in receiving with 783 yards, and his 16.3 yards per reception are the most among any player with more than 35 catches this season.
Fox Sports' David Helman
Last week: 7
This week: 6
Not the prettiest win of the season, but two things stand out from this game against the Colts. For starters, I love the way Sam Darnold bounced back from an ugly start. Even more important than that, it looks like Cam Robinson is going to be just fine at left tackle.
