The Minnesota Vikings have moved back above the .500 mark in the 2022 NFL regular season. Now, they’re entering a Week 4 showdown against the New Orleans Saints this weekend at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The Vikings certainly have some question marks coming out of a Week 3 win. Now shifting focus to Week 4, the battle with the Saints will be a tough test. Not only are they a tough opponent, but the game is being played out of the country in London.
With that said, the national media views Minnesota as one of the top teams in the league heading into Week 4. Multiple news outlets list the Vikings as a top 10 team while sitting at 2-1 overall.
Should Minnesota be considered a Top 10 team in the NFL? Or is it too high of a ranking for the purple and gold so far in the 2022 season?
Should the Minnesota Vikings Be Considered a Top 10 Team in the NFL?
National Media Power Rankings
Through three weeks of the regular season, the Vikings have either jumped into the top 10 on multiple national media Power Rankings lists or are on the cusp of cracking the top 10 of teams in the NFL. Outlets such as NFL.com, ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, The Sporting News, and more have Minnesota making a leap from outside of the top 10 into the list of the top teams. CBS Sports and a few other outlets have the Vikings just on the outside of the top 10 ahead of a Week 4 showdown overseas.
Here’s a list of some of the latest Power Rankings:
- NFL.com: #9
- ESPN: #9
- Bleacher Report: #9
- Yahoo Sports: #9
- Sports Illustrated: #9
- The Athletic: #10
- The Sporting News: #10
- CBS Sports: #11
View of the Vikings
Many of the Power Rankings put together by media outlets have noted the fact that Minnesota has been an up-and-down team to start the year. The Vikings kicked off the year on a high note, taking down the Green Bay Packers in convincing fashion in Week 1. They have since taken a step back in recent weeks while providing fans with a rollercoaster start to the year.
In Week 2 on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota did not look as strong as it did in the season opener the week prior, resulting in the Vikings coming back down to reality with the first loss of the season. In Week 3 at home, Minnesota bounced back with its second victory of the season but still has some questions that appeared in another divisional showdown against the Detroit Lions.
All of that aside, the Vikings have shown the ability to be one of the top teams in the NFL led by a high-powered offense that can put up points early and often. And the defense has stepped up as well, improving upon a less-than-stellar year in 2021. You can certainly tell Vikings players are still trying to adjust to the start of the new year as well as the new schemes in place under first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell and his staff. If Minnesota is able to continue to work through those early bumps, this is a team that could surprise some as the regular season progresses.
Can Minnesota Continue to Excel?
With what we’ve seen from the Vikings through three weeks, they should be considered a top 10 team in the league. They should put themselves in a position to ultimately return to the playoffs after missing the postseason the last two years.
In the coming weeks, we will likely learn a lot about the legitimacy of Minnesota and exactly what kind of team it has in 2022. Following the Week 4 contest against New Orleans, the Vikings will return home to host the Chicago Bears in Week 5 at U.S. Bank Stadium, followed by a tough Week 6 road contest against the Miami Dolphins before the Week 7 bye week. Out of the bye, things don’t slow down for Minnesota with a home matchup against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8, a road battle against the Washington Commanders in Week 9, and a Week 10 road matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
As things stand right now, the Vikings should be considered a top 10 team in the NFL and many media outlets agree. Over the next few weeks, however, that ranking could drastically change — for better or worse — depending on how Minnesota performs with a tough upcoming slate of games.
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