NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Colts Plummet Down The Rankings

The Colts continued their 2022 season on the road against another divisional rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have entered the year with low expectations from the national media and were coming off the back of a Week 1 loss. However, the Colts had a few injuries at the wide receiver position and with DeForest Buckner and Kenny Moore banged up weren’t a fully healthy team the Colts lost in an embarrassing blow out.

The Colts sit at 0-1-1, and are currently tied for second in the AFC South. The Colts not only continued their bad Week 1 outing they also missed an opportunity to be a win clear of their closest rivals the Tennessee Titans, after they lost again this week.

The national media have the Colts in the bottom of the pack in the power rankings board after their loss to the Jaguars. Even though they are a winless team, the Colts are still second in AFC South after the Titans loss and just one game back from the Jaguars. Here is how the Colts stack up in the week 2 power rankings.

ESPN has the Colts at 25.

The Colts failed to make necessary defensive adjustments Sunday against the Jaguars, which is certainly an issue. But even more appalling is the lack of toughness seen from the offensive line. Running back Jonathan Taylor is getting hit in the backfield and quarterback Matt Ryan is under siege. This is unacceptable for a team with the NFL’s highest-paid offensive line. The success of the offense hinges largely on running effectively and using play-action, and neither is happening right now.

NFL.com has the Colts at 26.

Are the Colts a bad team? It’s fair to wonder after Sunday’s listless 24-0 loss to the Jaguars. Indy was well set up to gain a measure of revenge after last season’s catastrophic Week 18 loss to the Jags, but the Colts instead appeared more lost than they ever were with Carson Wentz at the controls. Matt Ryan has done nothing to elevate this offense in two weeks, and he’s not getting much help from an underperforming offensive line and a thin wide receiver group that was without Michael Pittman Jr. The soft nature of the AFC South should provide some runaway to get things sorted out, but a tie with the Texans and non-competitive loss to the Jaguars is as ominous as it gets.

CBS Sports has the Colts at 25.

At 0-1-1, they don’t have the look of a playoff contender. They were missing guys against the Jaguars, but they got dominated.

USA Today has the Colts at 32.

Wentz looks pretty good right about now, no?

Bleacher Report has the Colts at 26.

Two games into a season is awfully early to hit the panic button...unless you’re the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts opened the season with what appeared to be a pair of winnable games in the AFC South against two teams that combined to go 7-27 last year. In Week 1, the Colts needed a frenetic comeback just to tie the Texans in Houston. In Week 2, the Colts got waxed in Jacksonville by the same Jaguars team that knocked them out of the playoffs in Week 18 last year.

Simply put, this was an embarrassing loss. The Colts were a mess offensively, managing just 218 yards. Jonathan Taylor carried the ball just nine times. The Colts converted just two of 10 third-down tries and turned it over three times.This marked the eighth straight time the Colts have come up short against the Jaguars in Jacksonville. Yes, the Colts were shorthanded on both sides of the ball in Week 2. But after watching Indy get pushed around in successive games by two teams exactly no one expected to do anything in 2022, its status as a preseason contender seems almost laughably wrong.

Pro Football Network has the Colts at 29.

The Colts are an outstanding example of us not knowing a darned thing until real football is played. Matt Ryan appeared to be an upgrade from Carson Wentz. However, Chris Ballard has done nothing to improve an already underwhelming receiving corps, and the offensive line has disintegrated over the past few seasons.

Hiring Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator could be a fireable offense for Frank Reich, but injuries haven’t helped their defensive outcomes, either.