WEEK 10 NFL Power Rankings

 

One way or the other you were going to hear a large whoosh after the Indianapolis/New England game on Monday night. Either it was going to be the wind coming out of the Colts' sails, or it was going to be a big sigh of relief from Power Rankings headquarters as the rankings avoided decimation.

Thankfully for us it was the latter, as the Colts stomped the Patriots 40-21 and allowed the rankings to keep some semblance of order heading into Week 10 of the NFL schedule. In fact, each of the top eight teams from last week's list remain in the same position, as do the bottom six. That means only the middling teams are currently jockeying for position.

Indy's win on Monday night also put their rejuvenated offense on display. After struggling to put up points in the early going (despite piling up wins), Peyton Manning and company have been terrorizing defenses the past four weeks and now rank near the top of the league in scoring. In fact, only the New York Giants (at 29.1 points-per-game) are now better in that category than the Colts (28.6). Rounding out the current top five are the San Diego Chargers (28.0), Carolina Panthers (27.5), and Seattle Seahawks (26.8). Sitting in the bottom five are the Baltimore Ravens (12.1), Houston Texans (13.4), Cleveland Browns (14.3), San Francisco 49ers (14.6), and New York Jets (14.8).

On the other side of the ball, allowing the Patriots to score 21 points pushed Indianapolis into a tie with the Chicago Bears for least points-per-game allowed. Both teams are currently giving up 12.3 points-per-game on defense. The Cincinnati Bengals (14.9), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (15.1), and Pittsburgh Steelers (15.5) make up the rest of the top five in that category. The worst defenses through nine weeks of the season? The 49ers (30.8 points-per-game allowed), St. Louis Rams (28.9), Patriots (27.5), Texans (27.0), and New Orleans Saints (26.9).

Here is the Week 10 edition of the NFL Power Rankings.

The 2005-06 NFL Week 10 Power rankings. Click your favorite team for their NFL Team Resources Page.

Week 10 NFL Power Rankings:				Last Weeks Power Rankings >>
05 Record	Rank	Team		2005 NFL Power Rankings - Comments
8-0-0	1	Colts		Will have to keep that offense clicking on all gears to cover a big home spread versus the Texans on Sunday.
6-2-0	2	Broncos		Come off their bye week with both the Chiefs and Chargers nipping at their heels in the AFC West division.
6-2-0	3	Steelers		Having Charlie Batch at QB was enough for them to beat Green Bay. Might be enough to beat the Browns too.
6-2-0	4	Falcons		Michael Vick had his best passing game of the season to keep them in a tie atop the NFC South division.
6-2-0	5	Panthers		Stomped all over the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay to pick up their fifth straight victory. Host the Jets in Week 10.
6-2-0	6	Seahawks		Picked up their fourth-straight win on Sunday, pounding the Cardinals behind Shaun Alexander's 173-yard day.
7-2-0	7	Bengals		Had little trouble defeating the Ravens last week to stay atop the AFC North division. Get a bye in Week 10.
6-2-0	8	Giants		Had a nice mid-season break last week, getting to play a San Francisco team led by someone named Cody Pickett.
5-4-0	9	Chargers		Four touchdowns for LaDainian Tomlinson on Sunday to carry the Chargers over the Jets by a 31-26 final score.
5-3-0	10	Cowboys		Come off a bye week into an important Monday night contest with team turmoil, the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
5-3-0	11	Redskins		Took advantage of an Eagles team missing Terrell Owens last week, getting back into the win column as a result.
5-3-0	12	Chiefs		Sitting two games back of the Seahawks in the NFC West division heading into Sunday's head-to-head meeting.
5-3-0	13	Jaguars		Needed to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter Sunday to avoid an embarrassing loss to the Texans.
4-4-0	14	Patriots		Despite their porous defense and the gut-punching loss to the Colts, they're still in playoff position in the AFC East.
4-4-0	15	Eagles		Now occupy the cellar of the NFC East division, and have been even worse to their supporters (2-6 ATS) this year.
5-3-0	16	Bears		Have now won four games in a row to sit two games up in the NFC North division. Also paying off ATS this season.
4-4-0	17	Rams		Sitting two games back of the Seahawks in the NFC West division heading into Sunday's head-to-head meeting.
5-3-0	18	Buccaneers		Two interceptions, only one touchdown pass for Chris Simms on Sunday as they lost their second game in a row.
3-5-0	19	Raiders		Couldn't hold on for the win versus the Chiefs Sunday, and as a result see their record drop two games below .500.
3-5-0	20	Bills		Need to contain the Chiefs' offense this week to move closer to the .500 mark, and end their two-game losing streak.
3-5-0	21	Vikings		Won versus the Lions on Sunday, but will need to catch up with the streaking Bears in order to win the division.
3-5-0	22	Dolphins		Only 103 yards passing and an interception for Gus Frerotte Sunday as the Dolphins were stymied by the Falcons.
3-5-0	23	Browns		Got a win versus the Titans on Sunday, but will need to handle the much-tougher Steelers to make it two in a row.
3-5-0	24	Lions		Joey Harrington returns as the quarterback, the Lions pick up another loss. To Brad Johnson's Vikings no less.
2-6-0	25	Jets		Looks like it will be Brooks Bollinger for the foreseeable future, as Vinny Testaverde has been demoted to backup.
2-7-0	26	Titans		The loss to the Browns on Sunday was their fourth straight; like the Saints, they are off this week to try and regroup.
2-6-0	27	Ravens		Kyle Boller should be back at quarterback for the Ravens in Week 10, and trying to put an end to a three-game skid.
2-6-0	28	Cardinals		Had no chance versus the Seahawks last week; will have a better shot versus the Lions in Week 10 action.
2-7-0	29	Saints		Boast the league's longest current losing streak, at five games. Have an open date this week to dwell on that fact.
2-6-0	30	49ers		Thanks to the Cards, there's a chance they might not end up in last place in the division; the two are currently tied.
1-7-0	31	Packers		Three losses in a row after Sunday's defeat. At least they're doing better ATS, where they sit with a decent 4-4 mark.
1-7-0	32	Texans		Will try for their second win of the season this weekend - against the Colts. Maybe it will be a letdown game for Indy?