NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Colts Head Back Downwards

The Colts continued their 2022 season at home on Sunday against an NFC rteam in the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were 8-1 coming off a loss to the Washington Commanders while being led by a familiar face in ex-Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni. The Colts were without young defensive end and pass rusher Kwity Paye and tight end Jelani Woods.

The now Colts sit at 4-6-1, and are currently second in the AFC South. The Colts couldn’t manage to get their fifth win of the year and needed to keep pace with the Tennessee Titans as they sit first in and above the Colts in the AFC South title. The Titans are now three games clear of the Colts in second place.

The national media have moved the Colts down in the power rankings board after their loss against the Eagles. Here is how the Colts stack up in the week 11 power rankings.

ESPN has the Colts at 22:

The Colts relied too heavily on the theory that having three solid players on the offensive line could make up for weaknesses at left tackle and right guard. It turns out they were not only wrong about that, but they also overestimated the performance they’d get from their returning veterans. The Colts have had a revolving door at left tackle, which is a recipe for disaster, as well as right guard. Add to that the stunning regression of Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly and one of this team’s perceived weaknesses has become a detriment to the entire offense. The cascading effect can be seen in the drop in production by the Colts’ top skill players, with running back Jonathan Taylor and wideout Michael Pittman Jr. experiencing respective career lows in yards per rush and yards per catch

NFL.com has the Colts at 27:

The Colts very nearly moved to 2-0 under interim head coach Jeff Saturday, but a disappearing act by the offense doomed Indy in a 17-16 loss to the Eagles at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts totaled 75 yards on their game-opening touchdown drive … then averaged just 20.9 yards per drive and scored nine points total for the rest of the game. When Jalen Hurts went untouched into the end zone in the final minute, it was another Indy opportunity lost in a season filled with them. “That’s a tough one to swallow,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “Make no mistake, that’s a good football team. We did a lot of really good things, but we made too many mistakes and that one feels like we let it get away.”

CBS Sports has the Colts at 23:

Jeff Saturday has this team 1-1, but they are basically done in terms of the playoffs. They are playing better for him.

USA Today has the Colts at 21:

Nice to see WR Parris Campbell finally get going. The former second-rounder’s 44 catches and 440 yards exceed his three-year career totals entering the 2022 season.

Yahoo Sports has the Colts at 21:

The Colts were very close to being the talk of the NFL. They were on the verge of beating an Eagles team that was 8-0 a week earlier, pushing Jeff Saturday’s coaching record to 2-0. But then the Eagles put together the one drive they needed to win the game, and the Colts move back to being irrelevant.

Bleacher Report has the Colts at 23:

Last week in Las Vegas, the Indianapolis Colts gave interim head coach Jeff Saturday a win in his debut. For a good portion of Sunday’s tilt with the Eagles, it looked like the Colts were going to follow that up by stunning the NFL’s best team in terms of record. Then, in the second half, the Colts remembered they aren’t very good—and what could have been a season-saving victory became one more disappointment in a season replete with them. The Colts’ biggest problem is the same as it has been for the past several years—iffy quarterback play. Matt Ryan wasn’t awful, completing 23 of 32 passes for 213 yards. But he’s no longer the player who won NFL MVP in 2016—or even close. He isn’t going to elevate the team. Will the Colts to victory. The Colts are trapped in the place no team wasn’t to be—mired in mediocrity. Even in a bad AFC South, Indy can’t be considered any kind of legitimate playoff threat. But if the season ended today, the Colts would pick well outside the top 10, which leaves them on the outside looking in where the top prospects in next year’s draft are concerned. That could leave the Colts trying to convince themselves that another veteran retread can do what Ryan and Carson Wentz could not.

Can we interest you in Jimmy Garoppolo?

Pro Football Network has the Colts at 21:

The Indianapolis Colts have played their absolute tails off for Jeff Saturday over the past two weeks. They were within a minute of toppling the then 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, who they outplayed for most of the contest. Gus Bradley’s defense played outstanding football but allowed two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter that allowed Philadelphia to crawl back into the game from a 13-3 deficit. The Colts’ inability to take advantage of the Eagles’ struggling run defense was the catalyst in the loss.