Saints climb a little higher in Week 16 Power Rankings after blowing out Colts

Week 15 of the NFL regular season is in the books. Here are all of the major outlets’ power rankings. So how do the New Orleans Saints rank? (change from last week’s ranking is in parentheses)

ESPN - #2 (+1)

Offseason in two words: Money matters

The Saints have one of the NFL’s deepest rosters, but how long can they keep it that way? Their offseason will be defined by several tough financial decisions. QB Drew Brees won’t leave as a free agent -- but backup QB Teddy Bridgewater might if the right opportunity comes along. G Andrus Peat, CB Eli Apple, S Vonn Bell, DT David Onyemata, LB A.J. Klein and WR Ted Ginn Jr. are among several other notable free agents. And the biggest decision of all might come if RB Alvin Kamara decides to hold out heading into his fourth season. -- Mike Triplett

USA Today - #2 (+1)

This might be statistical anomaly of year — Drew Brees completes 29 of 30 passes for 307 yards, four TDs and zero INTs … and doesn’t achieve a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

CBS - #7 (+/-)

They bounced back in impressive fashion against the Colts. The defense needed to show better than it did against the 49ers, and it did.

NFL - #2 (+2)

All hail Drew Brees, who decided one incredible NFL record wasn’t enough on Monday Night Football. The Saints legend went 29 of 30 for 307 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-7 win over the Colts, passing Peyton Manning for the all-time touchdown record and setting the new standard in single-game accuracy by completing 96.7 percent of his throws. Yup, it was a special night at the Superdome. Here’s your reminder that Brees enjoyed his nearly perfect night at 40 years old. Man. The night was nearly perfect as a whole for the Saints, who came within one garbage-time score of a shutout, one week after the Niners hung 48 points on them at home. New Orleans will need some outside help to land a first-round bye, but this team looks as dangerous as any in football with two games to go.

Bleacher Report - #5 (+/-)

Week 15 Result: Won vs. Indianapolis 34-7

So, Drew Brees is pretty good at the whole being a quarterback thing.

After losing a heartbreaker at home to the San Francisco 49ers last week, Brees and the Saints took out their frustrations on the Colts Monday night, obliterating Indy to stay tied for the best record in the NFC at 11-3.

All Brees did at the Superdome was complete 29 of 30 pass attempts for 307 yards and four touchdowns. The performance set a pair of records: the highest completion percentage in a game with at least 20 passing attempts and one other record we can’t quite remember.

Oh yeah. The most career touchdown passes in the history of the game.

Brees is great. The Saints are great. But there’s no margin for error after last week’s loss to the Niners. It’s not just about getting home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, although that would be huge given how raucous the Superdome gets. It’s a matter of avoiding a matchup on Wild Card weekend against (as things stand) a very good Vikings team.

The last two weeks of the 2019 regular season are going to be wild.

Yahoo - #3 (+/-)

Quite simply, Drew Brees is incredible.

Sports Illustrated - #2 (+1)

Drew Brees was practically perfect in every way for the Saints on a record-setting night, as he set the NFL record for passing touchdowns—passing Peyton Manning in the record books—in front of his home crowd.

Average Power Ranking Composite: #3 (+1)