NFL Power Rankings: Patriots Slide Despite 5-0 Start
Typically, Tuesday is the day for NFL Power Rankings, but the staff over at the FanSided main site is ahead of the curve, and are releasing them on Monday. Despite not having the Monday Night Football game to influence their rankings, it is still an accurate portrayal of the league as we finish up the Week 6 slate.
Sitting at 5-0 after a 34-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the New England Patriots will undoubtedly be sitting pretty in NFL Power Rankings across the web this week. That being said, the FanSided staff actually had the Patriots falling in the rankings this week. Let’s allow them to explain themselves:
"The New England Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The Colts have been rather lackluster this year and many were expecting a Patriots blowout despite Andrew Luck returning for the Colts. The Patriots even trailed Indianapolis at the half by a single point. The Patriots opened the second half with an 80-yard touchdown drive capped by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski and never looked back.The Patriots dropped in the rankings, and that has less to do with their performance and more to do with how well the Bengals and Andy Dalton are playing."
It is not like they fell far, literally going from the number one ranked team in the league to the second ranked team, but even that seems a little odd. It was the Cincinnati Bengals who rose to the top of the rankings here. The Bengals have undoubtedly been impressive, but what did they really do in their 34-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills to jump two spots to the top?
"Holy crap, the Cincinnati Bengals are the No. 1 team in the NFL and knocked off the Patriots. The Bengals cruised to another win against the Buffalo Bills this week. The Bills were still hanging with the Bengals at halftime, trailing by just three points, but Andy Dalton threw a pair of touchdown passes in the third quarter to basically put the game out of reach. More importantly, Andy Dalton continued to look like a – gasp – elite quarterback. Dalton completed 67 percent of his passes, threw three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Wide receiver A.J. Green struggled a bit, but Marvin Jones picked up the slack and had a touchdown catch on top of his nine receptions for 95 yards."
Sure, the Colts have been “lackluster” this season, but they are still a talented team that is coming back from injuries. On top of that, they were supremely motivated to put up a fight against the Patriots in this game. A closer contest should probably been more expected in this game then was ever led on. But make no mistake, the Patriots were in control of this game a majority of the time.
The Bengals did look good against the Bills, but it is not like they beat a great opponent. There was a lot of hype surrounding Rex Ryan and the Bills earlier this season, but they have not been all that impressive. Also, they were without starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor. E.J. Manuel played admirably, but we all know that he is not very good.
I understand the reasoning behind taking the Bengals over the Patriots in the Power Rankings, I just do not agree with it. Andy Dalton has his team soaring, and they look like legitimate contenders in the AFC, but let’s be honest, who are the favorites? Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and everybody knows it.
Next: LeGarrette Blount Becoming Patriots' Closer