Power Rankings Tuesday: Behind QB Andrew Luck, Colts are Rising

The Colts improved to 2-2 on the season with another dominating win over a division rival on Sunday, and people are beginning to take notice.  The Colts currently have the league's top rated offense in terms of points per game, are tied for first in yards per game (with the Falcons), and are the top rated passing offense.  Quarterback Andrew Luck currently leads the entire NFL in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions (he's tied with Drew Brees), and attempts, and ranks in the top ten in every other category.

Because of Luck (and only because of him), the Colts are rising in pretty much every power ranking, and you'll find them hovering around the top ten in pretty much every one of them.  The Colts have gotten back to .500 on the season, with a big week five matchup with the Baltimore Ravens looming.

Let's take a look at some of the power rankings:

ESPN has the Colts ranked 11th, rising three spots from last week:

Andrew Luck completed 68.2 percent of his deep passes in his past two games (both wins). Luck was 5-of-12 with an interception on deep throws during Indy's 0-2 start.

NFL.com's Elliot Harrison ranks the Colts 10th, writing:

Boy, that Colts aerial attack looks fantastic, with Andrew Luck racking up 393 yards and Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton each eclipsing 100. You know things are going well for Indy when Trent Richardson is catching passes and scoring touchdowns. Running game still sucks, though.

SB Nation's Danny Kelly ranks the Colts 18th, the same exact spot as last week, yet doesn't explain why.

CBS Sports' Pat Kirwan moved the Colts up to number seven on his power rankings.  Kirwan wrote:

The first quarter of the NFL season is over and here's what we know so far: Philip Rivers and Andrew Luck are playing at an MVP level and covering up the holes on their teams as they move up our Power Rankings.

Kirwan added:

7. Colts (12): Andrew Luck and his weapons are on track and they can throw it against anyone. Luck is averaging 326 yards a game and he is on pace for more than 50 touchdowns. The defense has to improve to win it all.

Another CBS Sports writer, Pete Prisco, has the Colts ranked 11th, but up five from where he had them last week:

Andrew Luck is on pace to throw 52 touchdown passes. He's carrying this team.

The USA Today also ranked the Colts number seven, writing:

Too bad Andrew Luck -- just pencil him in for 370-plus yards and four TD strikes -- doesn't take credit as well as he takes blame.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller moved the Colts up three spots this week to number eight overall.  He wrote:

Luck is the heart of this team, and his targets are very capable of making plays and being a nightmare for defenses. That said, for the Colts to win, their own defense must step up and be a thorn in the side of opposing offenses. To date, they've only done that against low-level offenses.

The Monday Morning Quarterback's Peter King has the Colts in his "fine fifteen," coming in at number 13:

13. Indianapolis (2-2). In his first two seasons Andrew Luck has thrown for 4,374 and 3,822 yards, respectively. He's on pace for 5,220 through four weeks, which makes our Andy Benoit (who thinks Luck will be the best quarterback in football by season's end) quite happy. Oh, and Luck is on pace for 52 touchdown passes.

There's one common theme in all of these rankings: IT'S ALL ABOUT ANDREW LUCK.  That's totally true. Luck is playing insane football right now and he's not only garnering MVP discussion, he's also leading his Colts near the top ten in most power rankings.  Hopefully, the Colts continue to rise in the coming weeks.