Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings came into the 2025 regular season with Super Bowl aspirations. The team is built to win now, and despite uncertainty surrounding the quarterback production, there has always been belief.
Things looked ugly out of the gate against the Chicago Bears, but then J.J. McCarthy arrived for his moment. Ultimately the Vikings dominated a fourth quarter on the road against a divisional opponent to grab a victory.
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
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Somehow the entire collective of NFL Nation reporters at ESPN decided to tune out. Despite the victory, Minnesota fell in the Week 2 power rankings.
Three-spot drop for Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 power rankings
Coming into the season the Minnesota Vikings found themselves rounding out the top ten in ESPN’s power rankings. After a victory, they are now 13th going into Week 2.
“Mason gave the Vikings exactly what they needed Monday night, and what they’ve needed for much of coach Kevin O’Connell’s tenure: a running back who can bulldoze his way to yards. Mason rushed for 68 yards in the Vikings’ win over the Bears, 54 of which came after halftime during the team’s comeback. O’Connell said Mason’s hard running helped open up the passing lanes for quarterback J.J. McCarthy and helped lead to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Mason is technically the backup to starter Aaron Jones Sr., but he has already made a case for being their primary rusher.”
Kevin Seifert
Seifert eloquently highlights the Vikings best newcomer performance. It’s clear that Mason is a difference maker, and Minnesota has had significant aspirations for his role since acquiring him. It wasn’t just Mason’s performance that was notable though.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy turned around a slow start to finish 13-of-20 with 143 yards, two touchdowns, and a rushing score. He overcame a third quarter pick six, and never looked bother. His ability to laugh at adversity was more telling than a 500 yard performance could have ever been.
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If you watched the game at all, it was beyond evident that Minnesota looked like a battle-tested machine that was unwilling to let anyone get in their way. A 17-6 third quarter deficit was cast aside as the Vikings ripped off 21 straight. To say it was anything but an eye-opening performance would be a blatant lie.
What about MN Vikings competition?
The Minnesota Vikings largely put themselves at a disadvantage to start Week 1 due to the intended lack of reps during the preseason. We saw that play out and it had them looking bad early. I could listen to that as a reason for the power rankings slide if it applied to their competition as well.
Cincinnati (12th) needed Cleveland to go full-on Browns in order to escape with a one point victory. Denver (11th) had Cam Ward keeping them at bay while looking entirely mediocre in all phases. Detroit (8th) looked inept as Dan Campbell no longer has his elite coordinators. Even the Rams (7th) couldn’t get anything of substance going against a middling Texans team.
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Certainly there should be expectations that things won’t run like a well-oiled machine out of the gate. Of those teams that scuffled though, only the Vikings had a truly dominant result in which everything came together.
It’s fine that power rankings are down on Minnesota. This collection knows what they have on the field, and who they are being led by on the sidelines. That doesn’t make it any more laughable when pen goes to paper though.
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