NFL Power Rankings: Colts rise, but questions linger

The Indianapolis Colts notched their first win of the 2015 season on Sunday in dramatic fashion, overcoming a double-digit deficit to defeat the Tennessee Titans on the road 35-33.  Andrew Luck and the rest of the Colts team were masterful in the fourth quarter, but that doesn't erase the fact that they allowed 27 unanswered points before that and entered the final quarter trailing 27-14.

The Colts really didn't play well until the fourth quarter, and that's when Luck got hot and put together three straight scoring drives, aided by a few key defensive stops - especially the final two-point conversion that they stuffed that would have tied up the game.

It was a team effort led by their star quarterback getting hot in the fourth quarter after another rough outing.  What do you make of that?  The same issues that we saw in weeks one and two continued to plague the Colts this week in the first three quarters, yet they did pull out a win and deserve a lot of credit for that.  The power rankings reflected that, as in most of them the Colts rose a few spots but are still in the middle of the pack as the questions linger.

NFL.com's Elliot Harrison ranks the Colts 14th in the NFL, up three spots from last week:

Music City Miracle: Colts edition. How Indy pulled out a win in Nashville on Sunday is anyone's guess. Andrew Luck must have been bracing himself for some intense criticism after the two interceptions he threw, the second of which was simply inexcusable. What is admirable about Luck is that he doesn't make excuses for his poor play. There's a maturity with him that the Geno Smiths and RGIIIs of the world don't have. It's that kind of demeanor that makes us think Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr -- two prominent guys in the next group of uber-young franchise quarterbacks -- could be players.

ESPN has the Colts at number 14, up four spots:

The Colts avoided an 0-3 start, but they've trailed by at least 10 points entering the fourth quarter in all three games.

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco ranks the Colts 13th, up four spots from a week ago:

That was a huge fourth-quarter comeback at Tennessee. That might quiet the Andrew Luck critics for a bit.

CBS Sports' Pat Kirwan ranked the Colts 21st, the same as where they were last week:

The Colts also did a nice job in getting the win at Tennessee, but it wasn't easy, and there are still some inherent problems on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Shutdown Corner's Frank Schwab has the Colts at number 15, down three spots from last week:

Not all wins are the same. If you watched that game, you know that the Colts weren't impressive. They won, and it's better to fix issues coming off a win, but that wasn't some clear turning point.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio ranks the Colts number 20, up one spot:

"Yeah! We came back from a double-digit deficit we deserved to be in to beat a team that won two games last year!"

The MMQB's Peter King doesn't have the Colts in his Fine Fifteen, but he does have them at number 17:

Salvage job in Tennessee Sunday. Problems aren't over. Terrible offensive line play.

FOX Sports ranks the Colts 12th, up four spots from a week ago:

With second-year wide receiver Donte Moncrief emerging as a legitimate threat, the Colts should improve on offense when the right matchup presents itself. However, with major deficiencies on both the offensive and defensive lines, a Super Bowl run still seems unlikely unless those units find a way to improve with continuity as the season progresses.

(hint: if you think the defensive line has still been a major problem through the first three weeks, you probably haven't been watching the Colts actually play)

SB Nation's Danny Kelly has the Colts at number 19, up one spot from last week.