Saints stay steady at the top of NFL power rankings
By John Sigler | Saintswire
The New Orleans Saints steamrolled the Cincinnati Bengals in every sense last week, making their perch at the top of the league just a little more secure. Here’s where they stand in NFL power rankings from all around the football cognoscenti.
ESPN
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Defining stat: 72.4. The Saints actually have a few disturbing trends on their defense, despite being the hottest team in the NFL. One is their 31st-ranked pass defense. But the one that has really disturbed coach Sean Payton is their 28th-ranked red zone defense. They are allowing opponents to score touchdowns on 72.4 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line. Even the Bengals were 1-for-1 in New Orleans’ 51-14 dismantling of them Sunday. — Mike Triplett
NFL.com
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Is there still any doubt about New Orleans in the No. 1 slot? Immediately following
an emotional win against a top-flight contender, the Saints went on the road and calmly blasted Cincinnati,
51-14. If there was any doubt early, it was quashed when Drew Brees and friends exploded for 28 unanswered points …
in the second quarter alone. The running backs put up three of those scores. In fact, Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara were a handful all day — until they weren’t needed anymore (like, at all in the fourth quarter). Ingram posed 162 scrimmage yards and a touch, while Kamara added 102 more and two scores of his own. Good grief. How do you stop these guys? Can you imagine
if they had Dez? ...