Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: Fox Sports Drops Vikings Four Spots

The Minnesota Vikings did not look great against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, dropping yet another game and showing little to be excited about. The theme of the season has begun to focus solely on rookie quarterback Christian Ponder, and his potential moving forward. Minnesota is looking to Ponder for hope in the coming seasons, to bring them back to their winning ways, as everyone knew Donovan McNabb was not going to be the answer. They'll continue to drop in the weekly rankings.

Brian Billick and Fox Sports drops them four spots in their Week 12 NFL power rankings:

26. Christian Ponder threw more interceptions than touchdown passes for the second straight game and now he loses his security blanket in Adrian Peterson. With Atlanta, Detroit, New Orleans and Chicago all on the schedule over the next six weeks, it won't get any better.    

Last week, the Vikings were at No. 22, pretty high - generally the highest you'd have been able to find them. Ponder was giving a lot of people hope, but as Billick notes, he threw more picks than touchdowns for the second straight week and if your quarterback is turning the ball over, you're not going to win games.

Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: CBS Sports Drops Vikings Four Spots

The Minnesota Vikings sorely needed to come out of their game against the Oakland Raiders with a win and some positivity, but Christian Ponder couldn't lead the offense to the win. The rookie threw more interceptions than he did touchdowns for his second straight game and now he'll likely be without running back Adrian Peterson for a week, or perhaps longer, with a high ankle sprain. They're not faring well in the weekly power rankings.

CBS Sports drops the Vikings four spots in their Week 12 NFL power rankings:

28. Christian Ponder had a rough go of it against the Raiders, but that happens to rookies. Without Adrian Peterson, things will get tougher.    

CBS Sports had the Vikings higher than most did last week, but at 28, there's only four teams with lower rankings, so there's certainly not good company. Their upcoming schedule includes games against Atlanta, Detroit, New Orleans and Chicago ... it's not going to get any easier from here on out.

Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: ESPN Drops Vikings Two Spots

The Minnesota Vikings were doing odd things in last week's NFL power rankings. Despite a blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football, they didn't go down much at all, which was likely due to the fact that it was, you know, the Packers. This past Sunday, though, they found themselves on the losing end of a game against the Oakland Raiders, and that one really hurt.

ESPN drops the Vikings two spots in their Week 12 NFL power rankings:

29. There is no way Adrian Peterson is going to play this week with a first-degree high-ankle sprain. (Clayton)    

While Adrian Peterson's ankle sprain doesn't have much to do with this ranking in particular, missing him could hurt the Vikings in future rankings. At this point, though, No. 29 doesn't leave much room to fall down the rankings. Christian Ponder has made this offense better, but the issues extend far beyond just the quarterback position, previously occupied by Donovan McNabb. His benching wasn't going to signal a sudden turnaround, and it didn't.

Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Almost At Rock Bottom

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