NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Cowboys find their grove, 49ers stunned by Falcons

7. Minnesota Vikings (7)

If the Minnesota Vikings were looking to make a Week 15 statement to show they weren’t going to suffer a similar collapse like last season, they certainly did so with that performance on the road to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers.

Minnesota’s defense deserves all of the credit in the world for making it a long afternoon for Philip Rivers and the rest of the Chargers’ offense, but how far this team can go in January if they receive the opportunity will fall on the shoulders of Kirk Cousins.

After the Vikings missed out on the playoffs last season just one year after reaching the NFC Championship, Cousins received a large amount of the blame, and as he should when looking at all of that guaranteed money Minnesota has invested in him.

The numbers from Sunday’s win by Cousins (207 passing yards with a touchdown and interception) weren’t exactly the most impressive in the world, but also this was one of those games in which the Vikings needed big numbers from their quarterback.

Thanks to a strong supporting cast from his ground game and defense, Cousins didn’t feel as much pressure to move the football as much through the air.

But with an epic showdown scheduled with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, Cousins will need a strong outing for this NFC North battle.