The Vikings won their Week 3 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-17 at U.S. Bank Stadium and will remain at home this week to take on the Detroit Lions.
The Lions are (2-1) after losing 30-26 to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 on a last-second play that was initially ruled a touchdown from Matt Stafford to wide receiver Golden Tate was reversed.
The experts released their Power Rankings lists heading into Week 4 on Tuesday morning.
We'll take a look at where the Vikings rank and how their rank changed from Week 3 below:
9 (Up 8 Spots): Elliot Harrison -**NFL.com**
Raise your hand if you thought Case Keenum was going to ball outagainst the Bucs.Holy Andre Ware and Kevin Kolb, Keenum was the difference on Sunday, keeping drives going to not only push the Minnesota offense, but provide Mike Zimmer's defense with a blow on the sideline. Keenum's unbelievable line: 25 of 33 for 369 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, a career day for the former University of Houston Cougar and Houston Texan. For longtimeVikingsfans, Keenum's effort standing in forKyle Rudolph* *reminded me of when Wade Wilson took over for Tommy Kramer and proceeded to lead Jerry Burns' group all the way to the 1987 NFC Championship Game. Thirty years later, and the Vikes are one of the better teams in the conference.
11 (Up 5 Spots): ***ESPN.com** *
Case Keenum: 75.8 Total QBR.Keenum posted a 94.6 Total QBR in Week 3, the best single-game QBR of the season.Sam Bradford* *posted a 92.0 QBR in Week 1, the third best of the season. The Vikings are rolling no matter the quarterback right now, and that will need to continue with three straight division games coming up.
11 (Up 2 Spots): Frank Schwab –**Yahoo Sports**
Who knows where the Sam Bradford story goes, but it's pretty clear the Vikings are a good team. Between Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph and Dalvin Cook, Minnesota has some explosive playmakers for whoever is at quarterback.
7 (Up 5 Spots): Chris Simms –**Bleacher Report**
Case Keenum deserves a lot of credit. He played well for the Vikings in Week 2 but struggled to find the end zone. In Week 3 against the Buccaneers, though, he was on point.
The Vikings don't have superstar receivers, but they have a group of really good ones. Keenum was able to take advantage of guys like Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, making great throws all over the field.
The offensive line is much better than it was last year, and we saw that in the passing game Sunday. We also saw it in the run game, as the line consistently opened holes for Dalvin Cook.
The Minnesota defense continues to show that it's special. When clicking, this defense can match up with any offense in the league. It boasts a great secondary, a solid front four and perhaps the most athletic linebacker duo in the NFL in Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks.
13 (Up 4 Spots):***USA TODAY* Sports**
The old adage that 'when you have three quarterbacks, you really have none' doesn't apply here ... unless Stefon Diggs can't return in 2017.
13 (Up 10 Spots): Mark Maske –**Washington Post**
Case Keenum? Who knew? Maybe there's no big rush forSam Bradford* to return, after all.*
10 (Up 7 Spots):**MMQB Staff**
Who needs Sam Bradford? Well, the Vikings probably do, but at least for one Sunday Case Keenum proved to be more than enough under center. Keenum was sharp, and the Vikings secret star receiving duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen overwhelmed a banged-up Bucs secondary. (Plus, Dalvin Cook is really hard to tackle.) With their defense, Minnesota had a good chance to survive without Bradford. But, with these offensive weapons, do they have a chance to thrive?
11: (Up 5 Spots): Vinnie Iyer –**Sporting News**
Case Keenumcame to the rescue* *with a lot more preparation as the Vikings short-term starter. But Dalvin Cook and the defense are still the bread and butter of their playoff chances no matter who's QB.
13: (Unranked in Top 15 Last Week): Manish Mehta –**New York Daily News**
Was that Case Keenum or Fran Tarkenton out there? Three touchdowns and a 142.1 passer rating for the journeyman quarterback? Raise your hand if you saw that coming. I sure didn't.
