**No. 21 (down 1 spot): Eric Edholm, [NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-week-12-2025-nfl-season)**
_What do you take away from J.J. McCarthy's performance against the Bears? Similar to his first outing vs. Chicago, McCarthy was pretty bad for three quarters and pretty darned good late. I tend to defer to the larger sample size, as well as the final result. Unlike in Week 1, the Vikings lost this game, and they were trailing 16-3 entering the fourth quarter – with McCarthy's play being a big reason for that deficit, even if a slew of dropped passes weighed heavily, too. The frustrations were tangible leading up to the drive that briefly gave Minnesota a lead in the final minute, and it's hard to imagine this passing game just clicking all of a sudden. It feels like the Vikings are on the brink, sitting at 4-6 with a 1-4 mark at U.S. Bank Stadium, and four of the next five games are on the road. The rest of the season should be completely focused on giving McCarthy as much room for development as possible._
**No. 20 (down 2 spots): Kris Knox, [Bleacher Report](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25296763-br-experts-week-12-nfl-power-rankings)**
_Just when it felt like the Minnesota Vikings might steal one and get back to .500, a special teams letdown let the Chicago Bears off the hook._
_Minnesota scored a go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute remaining and still lost, something that playoff-caliber teams rarely do. Right now, though, the Vikings don't look anything like a postseason contender._
_They are capable of beating good teams, something they did in Week 9. However, an average defense and the up-and-down play of J.J. McCarthy have made it difficult for Minnesota to win with any consistency._