NFL Power Rankings: Colts rise in some rankings despite loss to Patriots

The Indianapolis Colts lost 34-27 to the New England Patriots on Sunday night, and while the talk has been centered around the fake punt debacle, the fact remains that the Colts were closer than most people expected.  They hung with the Patriots for quite a while (even leading at halftime) until the fake punt happened and the Colts panicked as a result of being behind.  But there were certainly positives to be taken from the game from the Colts' perspective, and some of the power rankings this week reflected that.

Overall, the Colts stayed about the same, but that was a result of some rankings moving the Colts up and some rankings moving the Colts down.  I think it says a lot about how much some expected the Colts to lose that a one-score loss could raise them in the power rankings, but I do think it's fair to suggest that we saw a lot of encouraging things from the Colts.  Let's take a look at several power rankings and where they have the Colts this week.

NFL.com's Elliot Harrison ranked the Colts number 13, up one spot from last week:

Andrew Luck looked a little off Sunday night, even if the Colts' franchise quarterback finished the evening with decent numbers (30 for 50, 312 yards, three touchdowns and zero picks). At least Indy's coaching staff made up for it by pulling some sweet special-teams planning that rivaled the greatest in-game strategy in history, like a mix of Eisenhower's Operation Overlord and LeBeau's Zone Blitz.

ESPN has the Colts at number 11, up two spots:

The Colts are 3-0 in division play but 0-3 against non-division opponents. They don't play another division game until Week 14.

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco ranks the Colts number 11, down two spots from their previous ranking:

They showed better against the Patriots than they did a year ago, but what was with the dumb special-teams call? Horrible.

CBS Sports' Pat Kirwan ranked the Colts number 10, up five spots from last week:

The Colts put up a heck of a fight in a game that no one gave them a chance to win. This team plays hard for Coach Chuck Pagano, and if Andrew Luck takes care of the ball the way he did against the Pats, they are going to be just fine.

Shutdown Corner's Frank Schwab has the Colts at number 14, the same spot as last week:

Andrew Luck didn't look healthy. He missed a ton of easy passes. I'd like to say that he needs to get healthy if the Colts are going anywhere, but the Colts play in the AFC South. They'll be fine.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio ranks the Colts at number 19, down three spots:

For his next trick, Chuck Pagano will make his job disappear.

The MMQB's Peter King doesn't have the Colts in his Fine Fifteen, but they check in at number 17, down two spots:

Still trying to digest the strangest, dumbest fake punt call I have ever seen.

FOX Sports ranked the Colts number 13, up one spot from last week:

Before falling behind, the Colts showed excellent balance on offense in Andrew Luck's first game back. However, Luck's passes sailed high on an uncharacteristic amount of attempts. You have to wonder if he is still affected by the shoulder injury.

SB Nation's Danny Kelly has the Colts at number 13, down one spot from where he ranked them last week.