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Thanks to the Colts' second consecutive loss, our Power Rankings voters faced one of their biggest questions of the season this week: Where do you rank the defending champs? Should they stay at No. 2 because, when healthy, they probably are the second-best team in the league behind the Patriots? Or do you drop them behind the single-loss teams, the Cowboys and Packers?
In the end, equal weight seemed to be given to both records and perceptions. The 7-2 Colts slipped to No. 3 behind the 8-1 Cowboys but ahead of the 8-1 Packers.
Still, the decision wasn't an easy one for the voters. In fact, the Colts received two second-place votes, three third-place votes, two fourth-place votes and even a fifth-place vote (behind the Steelers, who are also 7-2). The Cowboys received six second-place votes and were third on the other two ballots.
"When healthy, the Colts might be the best team in the league, and the fact they they played two quality teams to such close outcomes, while so short-handed, is admirable," said senior writer Len Pasquarelli. "But the Power Rankings are a weekly read, in flux based on how the team is performing at that particular time. And the Colts are hurting right now while Dallas is surging."
Indeed, Hashmarks blogger Matt Mosley thinks the Cowboys would "win the head-to-head matchup right now" against the Colts. In fact, he even considered moving the Packers ahead of the Colts but "lost my nerve when I considered their schedule."
Senior writer John Clayton did move the Packers ahead of the Colts, although he suggested it might be on a "temporary" basis depending on how quickly the Colts can heal.
Scouts Inc.'s Jeremy Green dropped the Colts to No. 5 because of the injuries -- and also because "that was a bad loss in San Diego and you wonder where this team is mentally right now."
But senior writer Jeffri Chadiha kept Indy in the second spot because "even without a handful of banged-up starters ... they're good enough to beat the Cowboys head to head."
Unless those teams meet in the Super Bowl, of course, we'll never find out this season. But don't be surprised if the Colts find their way back to No. 2 at some point. Skepticism remains on whether the Cowboys and Packers are truly "elite" teams, while the Colts are a proven commodity.
"I still favor the Colts over the long haul based on Peyton Manning's experience," said Mike Sando, "but only if Marvin Harrison and a few others find their way out of the training room."
So where would you rank the Colts and the other 31 teams in the league after Week 10?
Click here to access SportsNation's ranking tool.
BIGGEST RISE: Denver Broncos from 25th to 18th.
BIGGEST DROP: Baltimore Ravens from 17 to 24th.
1 (1) Patriots 9-0-0 The Boston Globe broke down the numbers and determined that WR Randy Moss has been involved in 500 of a possible 583 offensive snaps. That's 84 percent -- or just 16 percent less than Tom Brady's success rate when he asks someone out on a date.
2 (3) Cowboys 8-1-0 In the two games since signing his six-year, $67.5 million contract extension, QB Tony Romo is 40 of 53 for 571 yards and seven TDs. He's also knocked off Lou the Devil several times in Guitar Hero III.
3 (2) Colts 7-2-0 Is the two-game losing streak really a sign of weakness? In a word ... no. The Colts came closer than anybody else has against the Pats, and they made a remarkable rally from 23 points down in San Diego. They just need to get healthy.
4 (5) Packers 8-1-0 Just two teams have posted shutouts through the first 10 weeks of this season. Who would've thought the Packers would have one? (The Steelers have the other one.) Sunday's 34-0 win was also the Pack's first blanking of the Vikes in 93 meetings.
5 (4) Steelers 7-2-0 Ben Roethlisberger has now orchestrated 10 fourth-quarter comebacks, his latest coming against the Browns. He completed 12 of his final 14 passes for 157 yards and also had two key runs, including a career-best 30-yarder for a TD.
6 (10) Jaguars 6-3-0 Is Fred Taylor a Hall of Famer? Most running backs who surpass 10,000 career yards (as Taylor did Sunday) make it to Canton. But if he wants to seal the deal, he probably needs another 2,000. That may be asking too much.
7 (6)Giants 6-3-0 So, what did we learn from the Giants' loss to the Cowboys? It's this: Eli Manning is just not as good a quarterback as Tony Romo. Frankly, it's doubtful he ever will be. For the near-future, the Giants will have to overcome that deficiency twice a year.
8 (7) Titans 6-3-0 Vince Young has thrown one TD pass since the Titans' bye in Week 4. But he did show signs of life Sunday, throwing for a career-high 257 yards. Still, the offense has scored just 13 points or less in five of nine games.
9 (14) Chargers 5-4-0 The Chargers came up with six interceptions, had two kick returns for touchdowns ... and still had to sweat out the win over the Colts. No wonder the reviews were mixed after the game. "We were lucky," Lorenzo Neal told the Union-Tribune.
10 (8) Lions 6-3-0 OK, we all know O-Coordinator Mike Martz would rather throw than run. But eight running plays in losing to Arizona? For a minus-18 yards? The second-worst rushing day in franchise history? No wonder so many skeptics remain.
11 (9) Browns 5-4-0 Lots of people accepted the blame for the loss to the Steelers, but nobody felt worse than veteran LB Willie McGinest, who missed key tackles on two Steelers scoring drives. "I had my worst game as a Cleveland Brown," he told the Plain Dealer.
12 (13) Buccaneers 5-4-0 Four reasons the Bucs will make the playoffs: 1) They're top-six in points allowed; 2) They have a veteran, mistake-free QB in Jeff Garcia; 3) They have an easy post-bye schedule: and 4) They play in the crappy NFC South (partly explaining No. 3).
13 (16) Seahawks 5-4-0 The Seahawks have clear sailing to the NFC West title. Of their remaining seven games, none -- yes, none -- are against teams with winning records. Beating Arizona on Dec. 9 will be key in case the tiebreaker comes into play.
14 (12) Commanders 5-4-0 No team since 2004 has lost more games after leading at halftime than the Commanders, who suffered their 13th blown halftime lead in the 33-25 loss to the Eagles. "We've got to learn how to put the dog away," Fred Smoot told the Washington Post.
15 (18) Bills 5-4-0 Of the Bills' five wins this season, four have come despite scoring less than 20 points. That doesn't exactly inspire much confidence going against Sunday night's opponent -- the Patriots. Say goodbye to that winning streak.
16 (11) Saints 4-5-0 The Saints are a one-season fluke. No, wait, they're actually really good. Check that, no they're not. OK, we don't know what to make of the Saints. We suspect neither does anybody else in the league.
17 (22) Eagles 4-5-0 Maybe we were too quick to write off the Eagles. They gained ground by beating the Commanders (and having the Giants lose), and with Miami next on the schedule, the Eagles should get to .500 for the first time this season. Is nine wins out of the question?
18 (25) Broncos 4-5-0 Wide receiver Javon walker, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last month, is expected back soon, perhaps even this week when the Broncos face the Titans. "If I'm ready for Tennessee, it'd be a bonus," Walker told the Denver Post.
19 (21) Cardinals 4-5-0 In holding the Lions to a minus-18 yards rushing, the Cardinals had their best rush defense game since 1946 -- or one year before the franchise won its only NFL title. For those of you who don't recall, they were located in Chicago back then.
20 (15) Chiefs 4-5-0 In getting his first start this week, Brodie Croyle is the first Chiefs draft pick to start for KC at QB since Todd Blackledge in 1987. So take that, James Kilian, Pat Barnes, Steven Stenstrom, Steve Matthews, Mike Elkins, Danny McManus and Doug Hudson.
21 (24) Bears 4-5-0 "Just when you think he was out, they pull him back in." Ah, we can never pass on an opportunity to mangle a Godfather reference (even from the awful third movie). Welcome back, Rex Grossman. At least until Brian Griese heals.
22 (20) Texans 4-5-0 Last year's top overall pick Mario Williams produced 4-1/2 sacks in his rookie season. This year's first-round pick, Amobi Okoye, already has five sacks. But he told the Houston Chronicle that he's "definitely hitting that rookie wall."
23 (19) Panthers 4-5-0 QB Vinny Testaverde turns 44 years old on Tuesday. Other quarterbacks -- well, ex-QBs now -- who turn 44 this year: Jim Harbaugh, Chuck Long and Jim Everett. Oh, and Bubby Brister turned 45 this year. No word on his comeback attempt.
24 (17) Ravens 4-5-0 In Steve McNair's last 35 drives as quarterback, he has directed the Ravens to exactly one touchdown. For the season, he has committed 11 turnovers while throwing just two TD passes. No wonder fans are desperately calling for Kyle Boller.
25 (26) Bengals 3-6-0 The Bengals offense should be ashamed of itself. All that supposed firepower and it still can't find the end zone against the Ravens. Still, for just the fourth time in franchise history, the Bengals won without scoring a touchdown.
26 (28) Falcons 3-6-0 The hottest team in the sad-sack NFC South? That would be the Falcons, winners of two straight. They're now just two games out of first place. So let that sink in -- the Falcons (!) are still in the playoff hunt.
27 (23) Vikings 3-6-0 The NFL's longest active scoring streak came to an end when the Vikes suffered their first shutout in 261 games. But that 34-0 loss to Green Bay isn't nearly as worrisome as the condition of Adrian Peterson's injured right knee.
28 (29) 49ers 2-7-0 Producing just 173 yards in the shutout loss at Seattle was bad enough. But consider that 45 of those yards came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the half. For the fifth time this season, the 49ers have fallen short of the 200-yard mark.
29 (27) Raiders 2-7-0 A few weeks ago, the Raiders were staring at a two-game stretch in which they faced running backs Adrian Peterson (Vikes) and Larry Johnson (Chiefs). Now both are hurt, giving Oakland a better chance to win. Well, not really, but it sounds good.
30 (31) Rams 1-8-0 The secret to finally breaking through the win column? Perhaps it was the Rams' equipment staff, which, according to the Post-Dispatch, visited a "voodoo" queen in New Orleans the day before Sunday's 37-29 win. Hey, whatever it takes.
31 (30) Jets 1-8-0 Can the Jets recreate the kind of run they went on last year after their bye week? The Jets were 6-2 after the break and much improved defensively. Do the same this year and the Jets will get ... a lower spot in the draft order.
32 (32) Dolphins 0-9-0 Now that the Dolphins are the only winless team in the league, WR Marty Booker summed it up: "You can pretty much pinpoint that we're the worst team in the NFL at this point," he told the Miami Herald. No argument here.
In the end, equal weight seemed to be given to both records and perceptions. The 7-2 Colts slipped to No. 3 behind the 8-1 Cowboys but ahead of the 8-1 Packers.
Still, the decision wasn't an easy one for the voters. In fact, the Colts received two second-place votes, three third-place votes, two fourth-place votes and even a fifth-place vote (behind the Steelers, who are also 7-2). The Cowboys received six second-place votes and were third on the other two ballots.
"When healthy, the Colts might be the best team in the league, and the fact they they played two quality teams to such close outcomes, while so short-handed, is admirable," said senior writer Len Pasquarelli. "But the Power Rankings are a weekly read, in flux based on how the team is performing at that particular time. And the Colts are hurting right now while Dallas is surging."
Indeed, Hashmarks blogger Matt Mosley thinks the Cowboys would "win the head-to-head matchup right now" against the Colts. In fact, he even considered moving the Packers ahead of the Colts but "lost my nerve when I considered their schedule."
Senior writer John Clayton did move the Packers ahead of the Colts, although he suggested it might be on a "temporary" basis depending on how quickly the Colts can heal.
Scouts Inc.'s Jeremy Green dropped the Colts to No. 5 because of the injuries -- and also because "that was a bad loss in San Diego and you wonder where this team is mentally right now."
But senior writer Jeffri Chadiha kept Indy in the second spot because "even without a handful of banged-up starters ... they're good enough to beat the Cowboys head to head."
Unless those teams meet in the Super Bowl, of course, we'll never find out this season. But don't be surprised if the Colts find their way back to No. 2 at some point. Skepticism remains on whether the Cowboys and Packers are truly "elite" teams, while the Colts are a proven commodity.
"I still favor the Colts over the long haul based on Peyton Manning's experience," said Mike Sando, "but only if Marvin Harrison and a few others find their way out of the training room."
So where would you rank the Colts and the other 31 teams in the league after Week 10?
Click here to access SportsNation's ranking tool.
BIGGEST RISE: Denver Broncos from 25th to 18th.
BIGGEST DROP: Baltimore Ravens from 17 to 24th.
