Despite Win, Saints Slip in Week 16 Power Rankings

Here we’ll look at five major NFL news outlets and their weekly Power Rankings to see where the New Orleans Saints stack up week-to-week. Here’s where ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, Bleacher Report and NFL.com rank the Saints after their Week 15 win over the New York Jets.

ESPN - #7 (-1)

Pro Bowl No. 11 could be in line for Brees. The quarterback on pace for "only" 4,404 pass yards, which would be his fewest since 2009, but he's still completing 72 percent of his passes with a 3-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

CBS - #4 (+/-)

It wasn't pretty against the Jets, and they will have to be better against the Falcons this week. But you have to win those types of games.

Yahoo - #7 (-1)

Linebacker Manti Te’o has quietly had a very nice season for the Saints. Remember when everyone thought he was going to be a locker room distraction his entire career over the fake girlfriend story? Well, no. Te’o is never going to be the player he was at Notre Dame, when he almost did the impossible and won a Heisman Trophy at linebacker. But he’s a very good part of a defense that can make a Super Bowl.

Bleacher Report - #5 (+/-)

This wasn't the prettiest game the Saints have had on offense this year. Drew Brees threw an interception, and Brandon Coleman had two fumbles. The Saints didn't run the ball the way you'd expect them to until they broke a few late that made the stat line look better than it should have.

The Saints are still one of the best teams in the NFC, but they haven't played great football the last couple of weeks. They're going to have to play better if they want to beat Atlanta next week and if they want to make a run in the postseason.

New Orleans isn't a perfect team, but it's dangerous. The Saints just need to make fewer mistakes moving forward.

NFL - #6 (+/-)

The Saints inched one step closer to the NFC South title with the win over the Jets on Sunday. The big date comes this Sunday, when New Orleans sees the Falcons, who still own an outside chance of winning the division themselves. Besides the fact this matchup will be in the Big Easy as opposed to Atlanta (where the Saints lost in Week 14), Sean Payton's in line to have Alvin Kamara at his disposal for the entire game. Kamara, who piled up 89 scrimmage yards and a TD Sunday, was dearly missed in the previous loss to the Falcons. I don't think Drew Brees would've had to force that game-ending pick in the end zone -- in fact, Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones wouldn't have even been there to pick it -- with Kamara on the field. Looking forward to the rematch.

Average Power Ranking Composite: #6 (-1)