NFL Power Rankings: Nobody knows what to make of the Colts yet

I'll be honest: early-season power rankings are not my favorite thing.  With such a limited sample size of play, the rankings can vary quite a bit from person to person and from week to week, and I wonder what the criteria is for these rankings (if the voters even have any criteria in mind).  For example, they might write that, "team X is a Super Bowl contender and should make the playoffs," but then one loss later drop them to number fifteen on the power rankings.

Are these rankings meant to reflect the standings or how good the teams really are?  If it's the latter, I wonder why there is such a drastic swing early in the season.  You researched and did your homework to rank the teams entering the season, but one game is enough to change that opinion significantly?  Again, I'm not particularly a fan of early-season power rankings.

With that said, however, plenty of people are interested in seeing where their teams are ranked, so every Tuesday we'll be taking a look at where the Colts rank in the power rankings.  And guess what?  They dropped quite a bit, and there is a wide range of rankings.  We looked at eight different rankings, and the highest the Colts were at was number five while the lowest they were at was number 19.  That's a pretty significant range.  Let's take a look at these power rankings for this week:

NFL.com's Elliott Harrison ranks the Colts number ten, down seven from where he had them a week ago:

Looks like the Horseshoe dodged a tack with T.Y. Hilton's knee injury, which should only keep the receiver out for one or two games. Good news. Maybe everyone should pump the brakes on fitting Andrew Luck for that Hall of Fame jacket just yet. I have no doubt Luck will rebound, but theColts were flat outplayed in Buffalo. Moreover, Luck was outplayed by Tyrod Taylor. Having new parts on offense is fantastic, but the benefits of continuity often trump the benefits of adding new parts. Let's see how Indy handles this.

ESPN ranked the Colts number 11, also dropping them seven spots last week:

What's the worst trend developing for the Colts in their past two games (including playoffs) -- Andrew Luck's 46.3 completion percentage or the Colts allowing five rushing TDs in those games?

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco ranks the Colts number 13, down eight spots:

It's hard to believe that was a Super Bowl contender we saw in Buffalo. They have to right things quickly to be in that conversation.

CBS Sports' Pat Kirwan has the Colts at number 15:

The offensive line was exposed by the Bills pass rush, and the defensive line cannot stop the run. The worst part is, the answers may not be on the roster right now. How long can Andrew Luck, Frank Gore, and Andre Johnson keep them relevant?

Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab has the Colts at number five, dropping them one spot:

Maybe the Colts have become tough to gauge because of their division. They're 12-0 in divisional games, as they play in the worst division in football, since the start of 2013. They're 10-11 playing everyone else.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio ranks the Colts number 11, dropping them four spots:

Everyone in the organization needs to get on the same page quickly or this could implode.

The MMQB's Peter King left the Colts off of his Fine Fifteen, instead ranking the Colts at number 19 (seriously).

SB Nation's Danny Kelly has the Colts at number ten, down five spots from last week.

Ultimately, here's the deal: the Colts lost, so they had to be dropped at least somewhat in these rankings.  There were legitimate questions raised on Sunday about this team, but they'll be fine moving forward (especially since they won't be playing the Bills' defense every week).