Seahawks drop to No. 5 in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings

Oct 6, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) runs with the ball against the Indianapolis Colts in the first quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Following Sunday’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Seahawks dropped to No. 5 in the NFL Power Rankings for Week 6.

The Colts (4-1) moved to No. 4 while the Broncos, Saints and Chiefs took the top three spots as the only undefeated teams left in football.

When justifying the Seahawks ranking, ESPN.com noted an interesting stat from Sunday’s game against the Colts:

"Andrew Luck’s career-long 73-yard connection with T.Y. Hilton was the longest touchdown pass Seattle allowed since 2007 (Week 16), when Baltimore’s Troy Smith hit Derrick Mason for a 79-yard score."

NFL.com has the same five teams, in order, at the top of its power rankings. Elliot Harrison, the organizer of the rankings for NFL.com, believes the Seahawks and Saints will be the best teams in the NFC for the rest of the year:

"While the Seahawks clearly are fallible, the thinking here is that they’ll still go 13-3 or 12-4. It will be tough for any team to overtake Seattle in the race for home-field advantage in the NFC, especially if the 12th Man makes life miserable for the Saints in what’s looking like the best game on the 2013 schedule: Dec. 2, New Orleans at Seattle on “Monday Night Football.” #awesome"

The Seahawks have been considered a top team for the entire year but are in the middle of one of the most difficult months on their schedule.

They had to play the Texans (2-3) and Colts (4-1) on the road before their game this weekend against the Titans (3-2) at CenturyLink Field. Then, they go back on the road to take on the Cardinals (3-2) and Rams (2-3) in consecutive weeks.

One home game in a month means a lot of miles in the air and a lot of fatigue for the Seahawks at an early point in the season.

When the Seahawks play the Titans on Sunday, it will be their fifth game against a team .500 or better at kickoff. The Jaguars were the only team with a losing record at the time they played each other.

The Titans have been an early surprise to most of the NFL.

ESPN.com ranks them at No. 14 after their loss to the undefeated Chiefs on Sunday, but perhaps they are still adjusting to their new quarterback after losing Jake Locker to a hip injury earlier in the year.

ESPN’s power rankings suggest Ryan Fitzgerald, who replaced Locker, needs to improve his game for the Titans to get better:

"Ryan Fitzpatrick was 0-for-8 with an interception on passes traveling 15 or more yards downfield Sunday. Fitzpatrick’s eight attempts are the most without a completion in a game this season."

NFL.com believes he needs more help from his offense to be effective:

"Ryan Fitzpatrick showed some shocking mobility on Sunday; the Titans got 50 yards rushing from Fitzmagic. Yet, at the end of the day, he faced too much pressure from the Chiefs’ defense and didn’t get enough help from his running game or receivers. At least Kenny Britt made up for it with three dropped passes."

It will be interesting to see how Fitzpatrick works against the tough Seahawks secondary.

The Seahawks have allowed just 194.6 passing yards per game, third fewest in the NFL. The Titans offense averages 201.2 passing yards per game, 26th in the league.