Shutdown Corner presents the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		If he had been facing, for example, the number eight quarterback on this list, Bill Belichick may have punted on that 4th and 2 Sunday night. He wasn't, though. He was facing the number one quarterback, and he knew that guy was going to score from anywhere on the field.
2. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		This week, Favre became your NFL leader in quarterback rating. In a year where we're blessed with five different quarterbacks with a rating of 100 or better, Favre stands at the top. He's thrown 285 passes, and just three of them have been intercepted. Favre might be asked to do a little bit less than most guys on this list (he's 16th in the league in pass attempts), and he might be in the most quarterback-friendly situation in the league, but he's been close to perfect. Wrangler sales are even up.
3. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady made some tremendous throws in a losing effort on Sunday night. He didn't get the win, but he did play well enough to continue his rise towards the top of these rankings, where he belongs. He's been over 300 yards in his last four games, which isn't something he hadn't done since Week 1.
4. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Saints fans are going to be mad at me, but I'm afraid it had to be done. Through his first five games, Drew Brees threw for 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. Over his last four games, Brees has six touchdowns and seven interceptions. That's not good, and I'm afraid it mandates a slide in the rankings. His yardage totals and completion percentages have still been awesome, but to stay in the top two, I'm afraid we need a better TD-to-INT ratio.
5. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Schaub rises a spot, even on his bye week, because it wasn't a particularly great week for the best quarterbacks in the league. But now, after everyone's had their bye week, let's check and see where Schaub ranks in some key statistical categories. He's third in yards passing (behind Manning and Brady) and tied for fifth in touchdowns (behind Manning, Brady, Brees and Kurt Warner(notes)). Not at all shabby.
6. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A brutal week drops Benjamin a few spots: He was 20-of-40 for 174 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. In a huge game for the Steelers, he came up with a quarterback rating (51.5) fewer than 10 points away from JaMarcus Russell's(notes) (43.6). That's not what you're looking for.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It was a very solid week for Rivers, who faced an Eagles defense that ranks fifth in the league in opposing quarterback rating. He went 20-of-25 for 231 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. This will be the fourth straight week where Rivers checks in at number seven.
8. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		A good, but not great effort from Rodgers against the Cowboys: 25-of-36, one touchdown, no picks, and just 189 yards. Not good enough to move him up the list, but not bad enough to move him down. He's been sacked 12 more times than anyone else in the league, and more than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees combined. Dallas got him four times.
9. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
		Welcome, Kurt! I'd still like to see more consistency from you, but two consecutive phenomenal weeks will get you in the mix. Over his last two weeks, Warner's thrown seven touchdowns against zero interceptions. If he has another good game this week, it'll mark the first time all year he's strung three quality games together. He's playing the Rams, too, so it's not exactly a tall order.
10. Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles
		The 450 yards against San Diego were really nice, but would have been nicer if a few more of them had come in the red zone. Again, I'd like to see some more consistency. Really, it was a three-way toss-up here between McNabb, Romo and Palmer, so I thought I'd go with the guy coming off the best week. I'd consider McNabb's grip on the 10th spot very, very tenuous.
Noses pressed against the glass: Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys

With the season-ending neck injury to nickel cornerback Ellis Hobbs(notes) and the four-game suspension doled out to nickel-and-dime back Joselio Hanson(notes) for taking a banned diuretic, the Philadelphia Eagles' pass defense suddenly looks a bit vulnerable.

According to Football Outsiders, Philly ranks first overall in opponent-adjusted pass defense, but it's where they're best that tells you something about their sub-packages. They're third in DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, FO's primary stat, explained here) against #1 receivers, 10th against #2 receivers, and #1 overall against receivers designated at #3 and below. This indicates that while starting cornerbacks Asante Samuel(notes) and Sheldon Brown(notes) are doing their jobs, the Eagles are also very strong when they expand their pass defense formations. Hobbs and Hanson will be replaced by Jack Ikegwuonu(notes) from their practice squad and Ramzee Robinson(notes), who the Eagles picked up after Hobbs' injury.

It's a bad time to come up short, roster-wise. Not only is Philip Rivers(notes) lighting up the NFL with big, fast receivers Vincent Jackson(notes) and Malcom Floyd(notes) and tight end Antonio Gates(notes) (Legedu Naanee(notes), who sees favorable matchups with all the attention on the stars, could be in for a big day if the replacements can't hold up), the Chargers have also gone away from the balanced attack they had when LaDanian Tomlinson was at his peak to a more aerial-intensive attack. Through Week 9, only the Arizona Cardinals have run the ball fewer times than the Chargers' 182, and no team is worse per carry than their 3.1 -- that's over a yard below the NFL average of 4.2. The Eagles will be challenged by Rivers and his pals when they hit the field in sunny Southern California, but there's one thing head coach Andy Reid and chief playcaller Marty Mornhinweg could do to stem the tide -- run the ball!

The Chargers' primary weakness is their run defense. Without nose tackle Jamal Williams(notes), San Diego has allowed 4.29 yards per carry overall, and 5.11 up the middle. Reid and Mornhinweg generally prefer to throw the ball at a 60/40 clip at the very least, but they should consider putting the triad of Brian Westbrook(notes), LeSean McCoy(notes) and Leonard Weaver(notes) on the front burner and controlling the clock. The best way to stop Rivers and the Chargers from blowing up all over Philly's defense is to keep them off the field altogether.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		The Saints are turning scoring in the NFL into something more golf-like, where certain teams have handicaps. Against the Dolphins, Falcons and now Panthers, the Saints have given them a bunch of strokes on the front nine, and then Drew Brees just squashes them on the back nine. Brees also retook the lead in 2009 quarterback rating this week, at 106.1.
2. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Manning threw the ball 40 times in the first half against the Texans. Not that that stat makes him a great quarterback, but it does illustrate pretty well just how much the Colts are leaning on him. Earlier in the season, Brees and Manning were clearly numbers one and two here, leaving everyone else to fight for third and beyond. Now, though, we're at a point where the one-two combo could be broken up at any minute.
3. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		The Steelers were pretty convincing in the second half last night, weren't they? They didn't leave much doubt about who was the better team on that field. What you saw in the second half was legitimate knockout power. Even if a fight isn't going their way, Ben Roethlisberger and the receiving corps still give them the ability reach out and turn your lights off at any moment.
4. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		Favre had a week off, so he'll sit quietly here in the four spot. There are two things I'll say while we're here, though. First, you know the traditional second-half meltdown from Brett Favre, where he turns into a Juggs machine that can only throw to the other team? That's not coming this year. Secondly, Brett Favre is exactly one-tenth of a point behind Drew Brees in quarterback rating. In fact, the top five guys (Brees, Favre, Peyton, Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers(notes)) are separated by less than three points.
5. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Handsome Tom makes a big jump this week, not necessarily based on his 25-of-37, 332-yard performance against the Dolphins, but because his level of play over the last few weeks has so good. It was really only a matter of time before Brady pushed back into the top five; I just wanted to see him string a few good weeks together. He's very close to being vintage Tom Brady.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		It wasn't the finest of weeks for Matt Schaub, and I should probably deduct more points because it was a week where the Texans really needed him. Still, he leads the league in yards passing and touchdown passes (tied with Brees with 17), so you can't move a guy like that too far down the list.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		Rivers threw a pair of interceptions on Sunday, and I was afraid I was going to have to move him down. That last drive, though, salvaged the week, to say the least. I know the Giants secondary isn't the most fearsome unit ever assembled, but still, that's on the road, on the other side of the country, in a hostile environment against a desperate team.
8. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
		Okay, maybe I got a little carried away with Aaron Rodgers at number three last week. Eight is probably a little low for him, too, but there's got to be some kind of a punishment when you throw three interceptions to the Bucs, and even worse, take six sacks. Rodgers is on pace to be sacked 74 times this season. Maybe his offensive line isn't great, but for all the great things Rodgers can do, no one gets sacked that much if they have any kind of pocket awareness and know when to get rid of the ball.
9. Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals
		Sort of like Tom Brady, I feel like Carson Palmer's finally rounding back into his true form, too. His stats from Sunday's game against Baltimore don't really do his performance justice. Cincinnati won that game in part because they had an effective all-around offense, and Baltimore didn't. That starts with the quarterback.
10. Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys
		Romo wasn't spectacular on Sunday night against Philadelphia, but he did enough to keep himself in the top ten here. Any time you go on the road and win (against a non-Washington-based team) in the NFC East, you've accomplished something.
Noses pressed against the glass: Kurt Warner(notes), Arizona Cardinals Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos

Cedric Benson(notes), Running Back, Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were good yesterday. They were "legitimate contender" good. It was a complete, all-the-way-round impressive effort. Carson Palmer(notes) was sharp for four quarters, he got plenty of time to throw, and the receivers allowed him to spread the ball around. Setting all of this up was Cedric Benson, who pounded out 117 yards on 34 carries. Ray Lewis(notes), on the NFL Network's pregame show, gave Benson absolutely no credit for his 120-yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens back in October, so Benson went out and duplicated it today, all over Lewis' face. Lewis did not make himself available for comment after the game.

Philip Rivers(notes), Quarterback, San Diego Chargers. On the road, against a desperate team, trailing by six points, 2:05 on the clock, one timeout, 80 yards to go. Rivers didn't even need the timeout. To that point, the meaningless yet much-ballyhooed Rivers vs. Eli Manning(notes) matchup was, statistically, going Eli's way, but with the last drive, Rivers left his stamp on the proceedings. With :21 on the clock, Vincent Jackson(notes) got open in the corner of the endzone, and Rivers dropped the ball into his breadbasket for the go-ahead score.

Josh Freeman(notes), Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the week leading up to his first NFL start, Josh Freeman had been a little fountain of confidence. He proclaimed that he was "radiating swagger," and I admired the young fellow's moxie, but assumed that he'd be getting drubbed on Sunday nonetheless. Freeman's 14-of-31 statline wasn't spectacular, but the three touchdowns and one interception were, for a rookie in his first start, kind of amazing. The swagger was there, too. It wasn't just talk. Bucco Bruce inspires normal men to great things.

Dwight Freeney(notes), Defensive End, Indianapolis Colts. With the Colts having lost about half their starting defense to injury this week, and the explosive and desperately hungry Texans coming to town, I thought this week was set up perfectly for the Colts' regular-season winning streak to be snapped. And while Peyton Manning(notes) was his usual excellent self, and Dallas Clark(notes) caught what seemed like 824 passes, it was the patchwork defense that won this game. Indy held the Texans to 17, their lowest scoring output since Week 1. If you'd have told me before the game that the Colts would score 20 in this one, I'd have never thought they'e emerge victorious.

Chris Johnson, Running Back, Tennessee Titans. Well hello, winning streak. It's one thing to beat the Jaguars at home. It's quite another to go on the road and beat a solid 49ers team. Vince "The Ultimate Winner" Young is getting most of the credit for it, and he deserves it, but don't forget to save some spotlight for Chris Johnson, too. He's been a beast in both victories.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Once again, this week features the Brees/Manning flip-flop at the top, with Brees placing his foot squarely on top of Manning's head this week. He did have the one interception where Falcons DB Brett Grimes climbed air to snatch it out of the sky, but Brees spent most of the game being pretty damn brilliant. I'm not predicting 16-0 for the Saints, but if there's one reason they can get there, it's that the play they get from the quarterback position gives them a very big margin for error in every game. Like last night, for example.
2. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Not a great week for Peyton, but his season so far gives him enough juice to keep the top spot. It's kind of funny that the guy can complete 31-of-48 passes for 347 yards, and I'm calling it "not a great week," but that's the level of quarterback play we're being blessed with this year in NFL National Football League. Sorry, I wanted to try that.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		The Vikings outplayed the Packers, but did Brett Favre(notes) outplay Aaron Rodgers? Sort of yes, sort of no. Favre was just about flawless, but the burden on Rodgers was far greater. The Packers had no Adrian Peterson to lean on, they don't have a great defense, and they didn't get to play with a lead. They asked Rodgers to do everything, and he responded with 287 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. I'm giving the edge to Rodgers based on degree of difficulty. As a side note: You know who has the best quarterback rating in the league right now? It's not Brees, and it's not Manning ... it's Mr. Aaron Rodgers. The top two is dangerously close to being broken up.
4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
		Continuing the Rodgers vs. Favre on Sunday discussion from above, I do have to acknowledge some bias towards Rodgers. I know this, and you know this. I still think a slight edge to Rodgers is the right call. Favre's been amazing, but the Minnesota offense is so perfectly tailored to putting the quarterback in a great position. Obviously, that doesn't mean just anyone could step in and put up the kinds of numbers Favre is putting up, but he doesn't have the weight of an entire offense on his shoulders, either.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A week off for Pittsburgh, and Roethlisberger stays put in the five-hole.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Matt Schaub slides a bit this week after a zero touchdown, two interception performance against the Bills. I don't think Schaub will mind, though, because he also got some good news this week: he might soon have a running game, courtesy of Ryan Moats(notes). If the Texans add a consistent ground game to what Schaub and Andre Johnson(notes) are already doing ... sweet sassy molassey, that's going to be quite an offense.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It's so difficult to hash out the bottom of this list every week, because there's so little separating so many quality quarterbacks, but it seems like Philip Rivers is the one guy who can be counted on for consistency. His QB rating has been 93 or better in his past four games, and he's never been below 84.5 on the year. Thank you, Phil, for making this slightly easier.
8. Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys
		Just 15 minutes and 30 seconds into the Cowboys/Seahawks game, Tony Romo had already hit five different receivers. By the end of the game, 10 different Cowboys had caught passes. I love that stat, because it shows that a quarterback is getting through his progressions, making all kinds of different reads, and isn't relying too heavily on one guy. Three stellar weeks for Romo and counting.
9. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		Here's what Flacco accomplished on Sunday: 20-of-25, one touchdown, no interceptions, one win against an undefeated team and one big, sloppy wet kiss from Dan Dierdorf avoided after the game. I like Dierdorf, but he does tend to get carried away at times ... and yet, the unyielding river of verbal lust that he lavished on Flacco on Sunday was completely warranted.
10. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady had the week off, so let's talk about the two other guys who were considered for this spot. First, Eli. After reaching as high as number two on this list, he is now completely gone. Sorry. There are too many good quarterbacks here for three bad weeks to be tolerated. Second, Mr. McNabb. Great, great game on Sunday, but you know what I'd like you to do? Have two of them in a row. You've burned me before, sir.
Noses pressed against the glass: Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants; Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears