NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Steelers, Buccaneers make emphatic leap

Last week felt like the Minnesota Vikings were ready to turn things around. They were winning against the Seattle Seahawks late and could have moved to 2-3 on the season. Then, they took an ill-advised risk on fourth-down, turned the ball over, and lost by one to Rusell Wilson. After that, they fell to 1-4 but still could have turned things around if they could have started to reel off some wins.

Week 6 offered them a great chance to do just that as they hosted the winless Atlanta Falcons. But the Dirty Birds did the Vikings dirty in this one. Kirk Cousins’ first pass attempt ended up in the hands of Deion Jones, which was the first of three picks for him on the day.

Minnesota also failed to get anything positive going on the ground, running for 32 yards on just 13 carries as it was proven that Dalvin Cook is indeed sorely missed in this lineup. If there was a silver lining on their offense, it had to be Justin Jefferson, the rookie wideout who had 166 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches.

Defensively, there was very little to get excited about. They surrendered 40 points to the Falcons and now at 1-5, it seems as though the Vikings need to start looking forward to the 2021 season.