St. Louis Rams Power Rankings Roundup: Week 8

Oct 19, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end Robert Quinn (94) walks off the field after a game against the Seattle Seahawks at the Edward Jones Dome. St. Louis defeated Seattle 28-26. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

For most of the season, we have largely ignoring the Power Rankings in a shallow attempt to dodge excess negativity about the franchise. Even with the only losses in the Austin Davis era coming to three teams with a combined 15-5 record on the season (with two of those losses coming from intra-game play), the St. Louis Rams sunk down the rankings early, and have yet to recover.

Sitting at 2-4 on the season, it is difficult to expect many to see the squad as a Top 15 team, where most teams have a minimum of four wins this year. However, coming off a gutsy win over the defending Super Bowl champions, will the St. Louis Rams get enough of a boost to make it back to a respectable level?

ESPN: 24 (Previously: 26)

"QB Austin Davis posted the highest completion percentage against a defending Super Bowl champion in a win over the Seahawks. Robert Quinn recorded his first sack of the season, helping the Rams quadruple their season sack total (four)."

Fox Sports: 23 (Previously: 27)

"Jeff Fisher pulled out all of the stops to beat the defending Super Bowl champions. The highlights were the incredibly designed punt-return touchdown and the gutsy decision to try a fake punt late in the fourth quarter. It didn’t take long for Tre Mason to run away with the role in Fisher’s hot-hand approach at running back."

CBS Sports: 23 (Previously: 27)

"They found a way against Seattle, even if they got out-gained. They appear to have found a back in Tre Mason."

NFL.com: 24 (Previously: 26)

"Rams punter Johnny Hekker is on pace to finish the season with a 118.8 passer rating — meaning the Texans’ front office has likely already inquired about him. Put aside, for a moment, the gamesmanship and strategic brilliance of the fake-setup, field-the-ball-on-the-other-side trick — how fun was it to watch? You really couldn’t understand the creativity of Stedman Bailey’s touchdown return without seeing it from multiple angles. And while we’re at it, we should note that the second-year pro made one heck of an over-the-shoulder grab to snare the punt. Too bad Bailey can’t do that on balls thrown by his quarterback."

At the end of the day, Top 25 is likely right on par for where the squad belongs after a slow start to the season. However, courtesy of their daunting schedule, the Rams have a wonderful opportunity to take some quantum leaps up the charts if they can manage some wins over the next half-dozen weeks. In fact, using this week as a metric, St. Louis will play four Top 10 squads in the next five weeks, with the Kansas City Chiefs being the “easy” game of the stretch. If the Rams can manage two or more wins, we should see them break into the Top 15 or, at the very least, the Top 20.