The Vikings have a short turnaround this week as the team heads to the 'Valley of the Sun" to take on the Arizona Cardinals (10-2). We'll take a look at the NFL power rankings lists to see where the experts rank the Vikings during Week 14.
The Minnesota Vikings were playing in what was supposed to be one of Week 13's heavyweight matchups. They were hosting the Seattle Seahawks—a hard-charging team suddenly rounding into form.
How would the rising young Vikings respond to a few power punches from the Seahawks defense? In a word: poorly.
The Vikings offense mustered only three yards in the first quarter. That was an early sign of what was to come, as running back Adrian Peterson was greeted with swarming bodies on every carry while he finished with 18 rushing yards. Peterson is only one game removed from averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and he's already logged six 100-plus-yard rushing games in 2015.
The Vikings are indeed a promising team with plenty of young talent set to blossom. But between Sunday's 38-7 pounding and a similar flameout against the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, they've now dropped two recent games to top-tier teams when there was a chance to make a statement.
Vikings #9—**Bleacher Report**
Minnesota fell far behind early in that game and had little choice but to abandon Peterson and the running game. But the Vikings do need to make certain to get the ball to Peterson early and often Thursday night in Arizona. It's time for them to show, after recent losses to the Packers and Seahawks, that they're capable of competing with the NFC's better teams. Vikings #11—Washington Post
That was a disheartening loss. They're still not a complete team, but this is the time you step back and say they're pretty young (aside from their star running back, which will be an issue at some point) and the arrow is pointing up.
Vikings # 10—**Yahoo Sports!**
Adrian Peterson rushed for 18 yards in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks. He's averaging 44 rushing yards in losses this season, compared to 126 yards in wins.
Vikings #11—**ESPN**
*You can't lose like that at home -- yes, even when you're without key components on defense. The outcome Sunday was never even in doubt. Tackling was awful. Secondary play was worse.
*
Vikings #10—**NFL.com**
