Power Rankings Roundup: Saints creeping into Top 3

The New Orleans Saints enter their bye week at a nice and comfortable 4-1 overall, fresh off of their Monday Night Football win over the Washington Redskins. While Drew Brees made NFL history on the big stage (something about a passing record, I think). Like last week, we’ve sampled several outlets to give you the power rankings roundup for the black and gold. Most outlets see this as a Top 3 team in the league. Do you agree or disagree?

ESPN — 4th (Previous Week: 4th)

Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 1st. The Saints’ most difficult remaining game comes in Week 7, when they travel to Baltimore. FPI gives New Orleans a 38 percent chance of winning. -- ESPN

NFL.com — 3rd (Previous Week: 4th)

Wonderful night for Drew Brees and the history of pro football on Monday. The 18th-year vet now owns the mark for most passing yards in a career, ahead of the likes of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brett Favre. Following New Orleans’ 43-19 win, “Total Access: Endgame” debated the Saints franchise quarterback’s place among the NFL’s all-time elite. The knock against Brees is that he has won “only” one Super Bowl, whereas guys like Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning, among others, have earned multiple Lombardi trophies. Well, that’s dandy (and overly simplistic), but if you are going to consider a quarterback’s ceiling -- i.e., how many championships he’s won -- shouldn’t you also take into account his floor? When have you ever seen Brees play poorly, or be the reason the Saints lost? Now, have you ever seen Manning or Joe Flacco stink up the joint? That’s why I can’t stand the wins metric for ranking quarterbacks. If the peanut gallery wants Flacco in its top tier of all time, so be it. Must be nice to walk out on the field and know your defense will hold the opponent under 20 points. How often has Brees’ defenses in New Orleans provided that kind of support? Brees > Roethlisberger > Griese > Eli > Flacco > all but a select few passers to ever play the position. Period.

SB Nation — 3rd (Previous Week: 4th)

The Saints jump one spot to No. 3 as Drew Brees dominated against Washington on Monday Night Football. He made history in remarkable fashion as the NFL’s new all-time passing yards leader. The Saints are playing like serious contenders five weeks into the season.

Sporting News — 3rd (Previous Week: 3rd)

The Saints stay in this spot after Monday night with Drew Brees officially crowned the all-time passing yardage leader. Now with that done, it’s more running game and defense the rest of the way after the bye.

Yahoo — 4th (Previous Week: 10th)

After a complete domination on Monday night, their 4-1 record allows them to move up in the rankings.

USA Today — 3rd (Previous Week: 3rd)

Drew Brees’ record night overshadowed the return of Mark Ingram, who was clearly ready to reclaim his spot in the highly productive “Two Dat” backfield.

CBS Sports — 4th (Previous Week: 6th)

As long as Drew Brees is slinging it and Sean Payton is calling plays, they will be a contender. The defense is showing improvement.