NFL power rankings, Week 14: Vikings holding near middle of the pack

The Minnesota Vikings are at 6-6, following a loss on Sunday to the rival Green Bay Packers, but they're further along than many felt they would be this season. Pegged as one of the worst teams in the NFL, the Vikings have been losing to some good teams lately, namely the aforementioned Packers and the rival Chicago Bears.

Still, they're on a two-game losing streak, and the weekly power rankings reflect this. Joel Thorman of SB Nation posted his latest rankings, and he has them in the bottom half of the NFL, but only just.

17. Minnesota Vikings (LW: 17, 6-6): Adrian Peterson is so ridiculous. The 6.2 yards per carry would be one of the highest averages in NFL history. Jim Brown holds the all-time record at 6.4. And AP is doing this off of a torn ACL.

That No. 17 ranking is no change from last week, and the teams immediately around the Vikings share similar records. The Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins are just above, and all of them have 6-6 records, while three teams sporting 5-7 marks are just below.

Adrian Peterson will be the topic of discussion for most rankings. He's got 1,446 yards and eight touchdowns this season, and is doing far better than anybody could have predicted coming off of ACL and MCL injuries. The rest of the schedule remains difficult, with rematches against Chicago and Green Bay, and a game against the Houston Texans coming up as well.