NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Latest 2015 Standings and Reaction for All 32 Teams

And then there were three.

Thanks to the Indianapolis Colts finally coming to grips with the fact they are a decent football team, the Denver Broncos are no longer among the ranks of the unbeaten in the NFL.

The Broncos, for at least one week, have been figured out. But what about the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers? Those answers aren't so easy to come by, which will make this week's power rankings highly debatable. 

Here are the NFL power rankings after Week 9 action.

Rank	Team	Record	Reaction
1	New England Patriots	8-0	Still the best team in the league until noted otherwise.
2	Cincinnati Bengals	8-0	Andy Dalton for MVP? Strong case.
3	Carolina Panthers	8-0	Do they have enough offensive firepower to make a deep run?
4	Minnesota Vikngs	6-2	The surprise of the NFL. Green Bay needs to watch out.
5	Denver Broncos	7-1	Finally a loss, and losing DeMarcus Ware hurts.
6	Arizona Cardinals	6-2	Balanced running attack has Cardinals in good spot.
7	Green Bay Packers	6-2	Unfamiliar territory for Green Bay, but he's still Aaron Rodgers. They'll be fine.
8	New York Jets	5-3	Sneaky team charging for a wild-card spot.
9	Atlanta Falcons	6-3	Finally have come back down to Earth, and loss to San Francisco is a killer.
10	Oakland Raiders	4-4	Defensive lapse is the difference between 5-3 and 4-4 right now.
11	Pittsburgh Steelers	5-4	Clutch win against Oakland, but Big Ben hurt again is troubling.
12	Seattle Seahawks	4-4	Bye week may be the perfect remedy for what they need.
13	Indianapolis Colts	4-5	Andrew Luck needed that badly. Colts may be roaring back.
14	New York Giants	5-4	Might as well give them the NFC East now.
15	St. Louis Rams	4-4	Tough loss to Minnesota, but Todd Gurley is fun to watch.
16	Miami Dolphins	3-5	A slip-up in Buffalo, but Miami's intensity is worth noting.
17	New Orleans Saints	4-5	Just when you thought they were on the rise, the Saints crashed down again.
18	Philadelphia Eagles	4-4	They're not out of the NFC East race yet, but they won't be around for long.
19	Buffalo Bills	4-4	Tyrod Taylor is back, and Sammy Watkins rose from the dead Sunday.
20	Chicago Bears	3-5	The Bears are who we thought they were.
21	Kansas City Chiefs	3-5	No way they could start winning without Jamaal Charles, could they?
22	San Diego Chargers	2-7	The loss of Keenan Allen, plus a loss to Chicago, ends all playoff hopes.
23	San Francisco 49ers	3-6	Blaine Gabbert won an NFL game. This is 2015, and this is life.
24	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	3-5	Up-and-down year for the Bucs, but they'd rather have that than just down.
25	Houston Texans	3-5	The ghost of Ryan Mallett will forever haunt Houston.
26	Washington Redskins	3-5	Loss to New England doesn't diminish good spot they're in through eight games.
27	Baltimore Ravens	2-6	Sooner or later they have to start winning games, right?
28	Tennessee Titans	2-6	Marcus Mariota returns, Marcus Mariota wins. Wash, rinse, repeat.
29	Jacksonville Jaguars	2-6	Probably the most fun-to-watch two-win team in the NFL.
30	Dallas Cowboys	2-6	Matt Cassel for President?
31	Cleveland Browns	2-6	The quarterback circus resides in Cleveland.
32	Detroit Lions	1-7	How?

Notable Rankings

No. 3: Carolina Panthers

This has got to be the most remarkable success story in NFL history.

Forget the 1972 Miami Dolphins going undefeated, forget the New England Patriots falling one win short of a perfect season. Forget any feel-good story that you can think of, because they all pale in comparison to what the Carolina Panthers have done.

Cam Newton is without his leading receiver from a year ago. It's one of the reasons why he's completed 53 percent of his passes. The Panthers don't have a running back averaging four yards per carry. Their leading receiver is tight end Greg Olsen.

Everything listed above should be reason as to why Carolina should not be undefeated right now. But why are the Panthers the only undefeated team left in the NFC?

It's not just their defense. It's timely defense. 

The difference between winning a Super Bowl and coming up short is all about making defensive plays at the right time. Look no further than Malcolm Butler's interception last year in the Super Bowl. Carolina is stacked at every position with defensive playmakers. There are Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis in the middle, of course, but Josh Norman has established himself as one of the best corners in the game.

That's the difference between the Panthers of the last two years and now. They didn't have a corner that could make an impact on a game the way Norman has. His four interceptions are tied for third in the league, and he is second with 13 pass breakups, only behind Buffalo corners Ronald Darby and Stephon Gilmore.

Norman is a difference-maker. If you need any further reason why, his head coach Ron Rivera gave him some high praise, per Black & Blue Review:

The Panthers are talented. They're more than likely going to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC. It's unclear whether they have enough firepower on offense to make a deep run, but that defense can carry them far, unlike the last two years when Carolina fell short.

No. 4: Minnesota Vikings

It's been a while since the Green Bay Packers have had to look behind their collective shoulders to see a team in their division creeping up behind them.

The Minnesota Vikings are tied for first place in the NFC North with said slumping Packers, who have now lost two in a row to both undefeated teams. It's tough to give Green Bay too much criticism because those games were on the road and against potential Super Bowl contenders.

But here the Vikings sit, winners of six of their last seven, with the only loss by three points to the same Denver Broncos that beat Green Bay two weeks prior. Mike Zimmer's team has an actual legitimate chance to steal the NFC North title from the Packers.

Of course, the Vikings and Packers still need to play each other twice in these final eight games, which will surely determine who wins this division. But the Vikings have been the most pleasant surprise in the league this season.

Much like the Panthers, Minnesota is winning with defense. But the difference between Carolina and Minnesota is that the Vikings continue to surprise the masses with their young offense. Teddy Bridgewater's numbers don't jump off the page, with 1,670 yards and six touchdowns to six interceptions. It helps, however, to have Adrian Peterson look like his old self, and it also helps Bridgewater that rookie receiver Stefon Diggs has emerged as a top target with 461 yards on 28 grabs.

Everything seems to be clicking at the right time for Minnesota. Although the only way they will win the division is by beating Green Bay, the Vikings are a young team that is resilient and can hang with any top team, and Zimmer feels the same way, per the Vikings Twitter account:

This team is young, but really good. If the Vikings can string a few more quality wins together, they could be a fun playoff team come January.