NFL power rankings: How big a threat are Minnesota Vikings to Detroit Lions in NFC North?

The Minnesota Vikings were never as good as their 13-4 record last season, and never as bad as their 0-3 start this year.

Like most teams in the NFL, the Vikings reside in the league’s middle class, a fringe playoff team whose record is as much a function of health, luck, and schedule as anything.

At 3-4 now, the Vikings sit just outside the NFC playoff picture with 10 games to go, the eighth seed in a seven-team field and the only team that feels like even a mild threat to the Detroit Lions in the NFC North.

The Vikings won an important home game against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday that could shape the rest of their season. At 2-5, Minnesota would have been a postseason longshot whose best course of action was to sell at next week’s trade deadline. Danielle Hunter would have been (and might still be) a top commodity on the trade market, and the Vikings could use the return he would provide to jumpstart their rebuild.

By beating the 49ers, though, the Vikings head into a favorable five-game stretch on their schedule feeling like a wild card team. They play road games against the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons the next two weeks, then have games against the New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears before the bye.

That’s a manageable stretch of games against a five-pack of mediocre or worse teams, and with their best player – Justin Jefferson – due back from injury soon, the Vikings might be able to get their head above water heading into the home stretch.

DON’T PANIC: Detroit Lions ugly loss a blip on radar, not impending doom. This team is still for real.

I don’t think the Vikings have the firepower to catch the Lions in the division race, no matter what they do between now and Thanksgiving. But the two teams play twice in the final three weeks of the season and there’s no telling where either team’s roster will be at that point.

All four of Minnesota’s losses this season have come by a touchdown or less, and two have come at the hands of the best teams in football, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Vikings won’t be pushovers in the Lions’ quest to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC. And with a healthy Jefferson and Jordan Addison at receiver, Hunter rushing the quarterback in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz-happy scheme, and a solid offensive line giving Kirk Cousins time to throw, they could make some noise themselves.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1)

2. Philadelphia Eagles (6-1)

3. San Francisco 49ers (5-2)

4. Baltimore Ravens (5-2)

5. Detroit Lions (5-2)

6. Miami Dolphins (5-2)

7. Dallas Cowboys (4-2)

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2)

9. Cleveland Browns (4-2)

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)

11. Buffalo Bills (4-3)

12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-3)

13. Seattle Seahawks (4-2)

14. Houston Texans (3-3)

15. Minnesota Vikings (3-4)

16. Los Angeles Rams (3-4)

17. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)

19. New York Jets (3-3)

18. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4)

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3)

21. Indianapolis Colts (3-4)

22. Las Vegas Raiders (3-4)

23. Washington Commanders (3-4)

24. New Orleans Saints (3-4)

25. Tennessee Titans (2-4)

26. New York Giants (2-5)

27. Green Bay Packers (2-4)

28. New England Patriots (2-5)

29. Denver Broncos (2-5)

30. Chicago Bears (2-5)

31. Arizona Cardinals (1-6)

32. Carolina Panthers (0-6)

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NFL power rankings: Can Vikings challenge Lions in NFC North?