Week 16 NFL Power Rankings: Fox Spots Keeps Vikings At No. 28

The Minnesota Vikings have had a tough season, suffering through injuries and a transition to a rookie quarterback, and they're not anywhere near the playoff race. With two weeks to go, it's all about personnel evaluation and seeing how Christian Ponder handles himself, above all else. They're coming off a bad loss to the New Orleans Saints, but they weren't expected to pull out a win, regardless. They kept it close at the beginning, but Drew Brees continued his dominance this season with five touchdowns.

Fox Sports holds them in place in their Week 16 NFL power rankings:

28. It's never a good thing when your second-string running back leads your team in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdowns in a game.    

At this point, only the Jaguars, Buccaneers, Rams and Colts are lower on the list. Minnesota still has a shot for the first overall pick come draft time, especially with the previously win-less Indianapolis Colts beating the Titans on Sunday. It will be very interesting to see how the last two weeks play out. 

Week 16 NFL Power Rankings: ESPN Keeps Vikings At No. 30

There's no relief in sight for the Minnesota Vikings. After dropping a couple close games in succession, they were beatdown soundly by the New Orleans Saints in their last outing. They couldn't have been expected to win the game by any stretch of the imagination, but the ease with which quarterback Drew Brees was able to shred the secondary was worrying for what was recently one of the NFL's top defenses. They allowed Brees to net his sixth game with five or more touchdowns, tying the most of any quarterback in league history. In short, they aren't going to be doing any rising in the weekly power rankings.

ESPN, predictably, has them right near the bottom in their Week 16 NFL power rankings:

30. It's hard to say what looks worse -- the offense or the secondary. (Clayton)    

That's the same spot where they were last week, though they are falling below that No. 30 in some of the weekly rankings. The only teams lower are the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams, though Minnesota is still in the running for the first overall pick come draft time. 

Week 16 NFL Power Rankings: Colts, Rams Closing In On Vikings

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