Category: Power Rankings

ESPN Power Rankings see Vikings make a jump towards the top

ESPN released its final Power Rankings of the 2024 season, and the Minnesota Vikings are ranked among the league’s best.

The Minnesota Vikings continue to receive national love after improving to 14-2. On Tuesday, ESPN released its final Power Rankings poll of the 2025 season, and the Vikings were in elite territory.

ESPN ranked the Vikings No. 4, their highest spot since the Week 7 poll, where they were No. 2. Last week, the Vikings were No. 5 heading into their second meeting with the Green Bay Packers.

The top three teams, in order, were the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and Buffalo Bills. Rounding out the top five was the Philadelphia Eagles.

Because the Lions beat the Vikings in their first meeting, it’s hard to fault ESPN for ranking Detroit above Minnesota. However, it can be used as fuel for Kevin O’Connell, who has been creative all year in keeping one of the league’s best teams motivated weekly.

It’s fun to see the national media finally give the Vikings credit after they lost two games in October. Now, the Vikings need to prove that they deserve the attention.

Bucs make big jump in latest ESPN power rankings heading into Week 18

Because of that recent run and the dominant win in Week 17, the Bucs saw themselves make a jump up the ESPN Power Rankings. 

Despite their recent run, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have seen their season go up and down. They have won five out of their last six coming out of their Bye Week, with their latest win being a monstrous 48 to 14 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Because of that recent run and the dominant win in Week 17, the Bucs saw themselves make a jump up the ESPN Power Rankings.

Coming out of Week 16, the Bucs had to be licking their wounds after their loss to the Dallas Cowboys. For them to respond the way they did speaks volumes to the culture within the locker room and how they feel about themselves. They easily could have folded this week in a trap game against a tough Panthers team and a familiar face in their head coach, Dave Canales.

Instead, they won by 34 points and saw their power ranking go from 18th to 13th.

NBA Power Rankings: Cavs mashing the pedal to the metal + New Year’s resolutions

Welcome back to another installment of HoopsHype’s power rankings! Last time, we performed a quick pulse check on a star for each team . This week, we’ll make New Year’s resolutions for each squad. What should teams be doing when the calendar flips …

Welcome back to another installment of HoopsHype’s power rankings! Last time, we performed a quick pulse check on a star for each team. This week, we’ll make New Year’s resolutions for each squad. What should teams be doing when the calendar flips to 2025?

Note: I’m still ordering teams based on a proprietary mix of past performance, forward projections, herbs, and spices; it’s more art than science, although the science portion is steadily growing.

With trade season heating up, these rankings could look very different in two weeks when we reconvene. Stay tuned!

Vikings remain in place in current ESPN Power Rankings

Despite their win on Monday night and the Lions’ loss on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings remain in the fifth spot in ESPN’s power rankings.

Believe it or not, there are just three weeks left of the 2024 NFL regular season. It feels like just yesterday we were gearing up for the kickoff of our first game of the season, having heated debates on whether or not Sam Darnold could be a competent quarterback and if the Minnesota Vikings would regret letting Kirk Cousins go to the Falcons.

Now we’re sitting here with the Vikings at 12-2, in control of their own destiny, and Sam Darnold had a career resurgence that’s likely to earn him a major payday in the off-season. And yet, even with all that success, the Vikings aren’t sitting atop many — if any — power rankings heading into Week 16.

Such is the case with the latest ESPN power rankings, which have the Vikings unchanged from their spot at the end of last week. Despite Minnesota getting a convincing win on Monday Night Football and the Detroit Lions dropping their game against the Buffalo Bills, the Vikings remain in ESPN’s fifth spot overall.

That ranking has the Vikings sitting behind both the aforementioned Bills and Lions, along with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Even with a win this week over the Seattle Seahawks, that ranking isn’t likely to change unless there are some upsets this week.

However, Minnesota closes out their season with games against the Green Bay Packers and the Lions, which gives them the chance to climb the ranks if they can take care of business.

For now, though, a top-five ranking is pretty good, considering where most thought the Vikings would be at this point before the season started.

Steelers fall two spots in NFL’s latest power rankings

The Pittsburgh Steelers drop in the NFL power rankings despite injuries, but their overall strength remains undeniable in 2024.

Oh, how the Black and Gold have fallen—or have they? Following the completion of Week 15’s games, recent NFL power rankings suggest so. Heading into their matchup with the Eagles, the Steelers were ranked sixth in the entire NFL, third among all AFC teams.

However, the Steelers’ loss to the Eagles spelled disaster for their ranking, dropping them two spots to eighth, now one behind the Baltimore Ravens.

Currently, the top five teams in the NFL Network’s rendition of the post-Week 15 power rankings are as follows: the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Detroit Lions, and the Minnesota Vikings.

Several high-level teams made little to no change at all—the Vikings holding steady at fifth, and the Chiefs remaining at third. It’s not hard to argue that the Steelers should have been included among these teams.

The Steelers’ loss to the Eagles was not indicative of the team’s overall strength in 2024, as Pittsburgh was grappling with several short-term injuries at the time.

As Week 18’s regular season finale draws ever closer, power rankings from multiple sports outlets will have no choice but to acknowledge the true capabilities of the Steelers.

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NBA Power Rankings: Thunder rolling + Pulse check on stars

Welcome back to another installment of HoopsHype’s power rankings. Last time, we looked at a reason for hope for every squad , and before that, we looked at each team’s most promising young player . But this is a superstar-driven league, so this …

Welcome back to another installment of HoopsHype’s power rankings. Last time, we looked at a reason for hope for every squad, and before that, we looked at each team’s most promising young player.

But this is a superstar-driven league, so this time, I thought we’d take a quick pulse check on a star for each squad. Note: I’m still ordering teams based on a proprietary mix of past performance, forward projection, herbs, and spices; it’s more art than science, although now that we’re at the 25-game mark, the portion of science in it is steadily growing larger.

Steelers climb 1 spot in new power rankings

The Steelers are up to No. 6 in the NFL Network power rankings.

Despite all their detractors and doubters, the Pittsburgh Steelers just keep finding ways to win games and stay on top in the AFC North. Pittsburgh is 10-3 with four games to play and can clinch a playoff spot in the AFC in Week 15 with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the latest updated NFL power rankings on the NFL site, they gave the Steelers a one-spot bump up after the win over the Cleveland Browns to No. 6 in their latest power rankings. Here’s what they had to say about the Steelers:

I’ve been asked a lot on radio shows whether the Steelers are truly a Super Bowl contender, and my answer always seems to turn into a version of: Why the heck not? They have a championship-level defense and an offense that can get cooking at times. Throw in a mortal-lock kicker in Chris Boswell (36 of 39 on field-goal tries) and terrific special teams overall, and the formula is there. 

If the Steelers want to be seriously considered as Super Bowl contenders, these next three games will tell all. The Steelers taken on the Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in a span of 10 days. The Eagles are the No. 2 team on these rankings and the Chiefs are No. 3. Come out of this stretch with a win or two and it will do a long way toward legitimizing their shot in the AFC.

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Vikings drop in ESPN Power Rankings despite Week 13 win

Despite all those positive points, ESPN has them dropping in their latest power rankings heading into Week 14.

The Minnesota Vikings are looking for their sixth straight win after defeating the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. With a win, the Vikings can earn a playoff spot in Week 14 while also getting revenge on their former quarterback, Kirk Cousins.

Despite all those positive points, ESPN has them dropping in their latest power rankings heading into Week 14.

The rankings have them dropping one spot from fifth to sixth after their comeback win against the Cardinals. In the piece, they rank the Lions in the top spot while the Packers and Bears are ranked 7th and 22nd, respectively.

The win was a major moment in the season for the Vikings as it showed they can have those trying times and overcome them to secure a win. Those are the moments that a team can look back on after a successful season as a reason they achieved what they did.

Perhaps a win over the Falcons can see the Vikings crack back into the top five.

NBA Power Rankings: Reasons for hope for each team

Welcome back to another installment of HoopsHype’s power rankings! Rather than just talk about the week that was, I like to focus on something a little more specific for each team. Last time, it was a look at each team’s most intriguing young player …

Welcome back to another installment of HoopsHype’s power rankings!

Rather than just talk about the week that was, I like to focus on something a little more specific for each team. Last time, it was a look at each team’s most intriguing young player. For the upcoming holidays, however, I thought it would be nice to examine reasons for hope.

Every squad has different goals at this point in the season, and their reasons for optimism won’t follow the same parameters. It’s unrealistic to expect 30 teams to compete for a championship, but there are still silver linings to the on-court product of even the teams most resembling an M1 Abrams. I didn’t want to lean on the lottery odds as a crutch for the bad squads, so I tried to find something about their current roster that gives a reason to tune in.

In that same cheerful spirit, we’ll start with the teams at the bottom. I know half of you are just here to look for the top five, but this way, the teams that don’t get talked about as much will get at least a little shine.

These power rankings are as much art as science. Net ratings, injuries, forward-looking projections, strength of schedule, and feel are all part of the equation. Just because one team beats another doesn’t mean they are more powerful. This early in the season, expect a lot of movement week-to-week.

Vikings make a small jump ESPN Power Rankings after Week 12

After beating the Bears, Minnesota see a slight rise up the power rankings for ESPN.

Following the thrilling 30-27 overtime win over the Chicago Bears, the Vikings saw a slight rise in their ESPN power ranking. Entering Week 12, Minnesota was ranked No. 6, but after beating the Bears, the Vikings entered Week 13 as the fifth-best team in the NFL.

The FPI accurately puts the Vikings’ defense at the top of the reasons the team is in an excellent position for a playoff berth. Coordinator Brian Flores’ group bamboozled opposing quarterbacks early this season and has continued to find ways to pile up takeaways (22) and sacks (38). . . The Vikings have gotten far more from quarterback Sam Darnold, including 21 touchdown passes, than anyone could have expected.

On Sunday, the Vikings will host the Arizona Cardinals, who just lost to the Seahawks. According to ESPN, Arizona is the 14th-ranked team. The Cardinals are currently 6-5 on the year.

The game will go a long way for both teams attempting to earn a division title.