The latest NFL power rankings aren’t taking a kind view of the New Orleans Saints after their third straight loss, having fallen to 1-3 on the year against the Minnesota Vikings in London. New Orleans is being commonly ranked as the second-worst team in their own division as more ballots roll in, with a widening gap separating them from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, yeah, the Atlanta Falcons. Here are the average rankings of each NFC South team after Week 5 from 15 different outlets:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6.8 (-0.2 from last week)
Atlanta Falcons: 21.1 (+6.3 from last week)
New Orleans Saints: 24.1 (-1.8 from last week)
Carolina Panthers: 30.3 (-2.5 from last week)
So the Falcons were the only team to improve their positioning, while some uncertainty is building around the 2-2 Bucs. The Panthers are flirting with irrelevance, but the Saints risk joining them if they don’t turn it around soon. They’ve fallen further down the board in each of the last three weeks.
With that in mind, let’s survey all of the different NFL power rankings from around the league’s media landscape:
Touchdown Wire
Ranking: 30 (Last week: 26)
Author: Mark Lane
Author’s take:
“It is one thing for Wil Lutz to miss a 61-yard field goal. It is another that the Saints had to settle on such long odds to send a game into overtime. New Orleans is going through more of a rebuilding year than a retooling year with Dennis Allen, and the facts are starting to manifest themselves in the win column.”
USA Today
Ranking: 27 (Last week: 24)
Author: Nate Davis
Author’s take:
“Four of their next five games are in the Superdome. It’s go time for a team that shouldn’t be 1-3 despite its inordinate amount of key injuries.”
CBS Sports
Ranking: 24 (Last week: 21)
Author: Pete Prisco
Author’s take:
“Injuries have hurt them a lot, but at 1-3 they are one of the early-season disappointments. The good news is nobody is running away with the division.”
NFL.com
Ranking: 18 (Last week: 19)
Author: Dan Hanzus
Author’s take:
“Injuries have hurt them a lot, but at 1-3 they are one of the early-season disappointments. The good news is nobody is running away with the division.”
Bleacher Report
Ranking: 25 (Last…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Saints Wire…