NFL power rankings, Week 8: Vikings fall, Lions rise

Minnesota takes its first loss of the season on the road in Philadelphia looking like roadkill. Every area of this Vikings team is banged up, and Sunday’s game showed where they were hurting most. Not having their starting offensive tackles resulted in Sam Bradford being sacked six times and fumbling four. Stefon Diggs was only targeted five times, and finished with two catches for 18 yards coming off an injury from last week. Safety Andrew Sendejo left the game early with an ankle injury, leaving rookie Jayron Kearse to fill in. Mike Zimmer will not be pleased with the defense and special teams allowing as many points as they did, and will hammer those mistakes all week. <p>Next Week: The Vikings will play on Halloween in Chicago against a reeling Bears team with more questions than answers. The biggest one will be who plays under center for Chicago with Brian Hoyer breaking his arm and Jay Cutler recovering from a hand injury. John Fox hopes to have Cutler back, but if not it will be Matt Barkley once again.</p> <p>Playoff Hopes: Not much has changed despite the first loss of the season for the Vikings. They sit one game ahead of the rising Green Bay Packers with the Lions quietly closing in. Getting a win on the road in Chicago will be huge in case of a divisional tiebreaker.</p>. 5-1. Previous: . Minnesota Vikings. 2. team. 60