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

As Chase noted earlier in his post criticizing Bill Belichick for "The Decision," Belichick took a beating from the media after last night's game.

Rodney Harrison(notes), who still calls the Patriots "we," verbally put the boots to Belichick from the NBC post-game show. Tony Dungy, maybe the friendliest guy on the planet, lambasted him for it, too. Over on ESPN, Trent Dilfer(notes) absolutely murdered Belichick for the call.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Chase, Harrison, Dungy and Dilfer. I think "The Decision" was the right one.

Before we start, I just want you to know that I loathe the man. I think he's cheated, and I think he'd bite his own mother's left leg off in exchange for a win. Or even a first down. It brings me no joy to defend Bill Belichick.

The fact is, though, that the pros outweigh the cons here. Yes, he ended up giving Peyton Manning(notes) a short field, and yes, he showed "a lack of faith in his defense." I would suggest that Peyton Manning was going to score a touchdown there, whether it was from the Patriots 28, or his own 38. Belichick knows how good Manning is, and he knows how good his defense is. If you had to put your money on one unit, would you take the Colts' passing game, or the Patriots' pass defense?

As for showing "a lack of faith in his defense," you can call it that if you'd like, but I prefer to call it "being realistic about the situation." What, are we worried about hurting the defense's feelings? Awwww. If they don't like it, they can feel free to get better. Maybe there would be more faith in them in they didn't give up, oh, I don't know, just as an example ... 327 yards and four touchdowns to Manning.

Belichick had a chance to put the game on ice and keep the ball out of Peyton Manning's hands. All they had to do was complete a simple little play that they've run successfully about 28 million times. If Kevin Faulk(notes) doesn't bobble the pass right at the sticks, Bill Belichick is a genius this morning. I think Faulk might have gotten the first down anyway. We couldn't find out for sure because the Patriots couldn't challenge after having burned all their timeouts (if you want to criticize Belichick for something, I'd start there). They got burned because they couldn't execute a play that Tom Brady(notes) and Kevin Faulk can normally execute in their sleep. At what point would you ever bet against Tom Brady being able to get a ball to Kevin Faulk for a two-yard gain?

The raw statistical data backs up the decision to go for it, too. The following comes from Advanced NFL Stats, an excellent site that tracks "In-Game Win Probability" based on stats accumulated and in-game situations. Here's what they came up with, and you can get a more detailed explanation here. WP = Win Probability.

With 2:00 left and the Colts with only one timeout, a successful conversion wins the game for all practical purposes. A 4th and 2 conversion would be successful 60% of the time. Historically, in a situation with 2:00 left and needing a TD to either win or tie, teams get the TD 53% of the time from that field position. The total WP for the 4th down conversion attempt would therefore be:

(0.60 * 1) + (0.40 * (1-0.53)) = 0.79 WP

A punt from the 28 typically nets 38 yards, starting the Colts at their own 34. Teams historically get the TD 30% of the time in that situation. So the punt gives the Pats about a 0.70 WP.

Statistically, the better decision would be to go for it, and by a good amount.

At the end of the day, it was an unconventional call that's easy to question, given how things turned out. Belichick, though, has made a hall-of-fame career and built his own legend around making decisions just like that one. That way of thinking is what makes him great. If he wasn't willing to take those risks or do the unconventional thing, he wouldn't be Bill Belichick, future hall of famer and NFL coaching legend. He'd be Bill Belichick, that doofus that the Browns hired once a long time ago.

Even if you think it was a bad call, it was still a very Bill Belichick call, meaning that it went against the grain, defied traditional football logic and went for the jugular. Most of the time in the past, when Belichick's made such a call, it's worked out. Last night's didn't.

It happens. If the Colts and Patriots happen to meet again in the playoffs, and that exact same situation comes up, it will again be the right call to go for it.

As always, there were several fascinating subplots in the New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts matchup, but the primary topic of conversation is what it has always been – the exploits of Peyton Manning(notes) and Tom Brady(notes). Manning, who has been playing quarterback about as well as it can be played this season, did throw a couple of head-scratchers for interceptions, but was absolutely surgical down the stretch as the Colts erased a 34-21 deficit with less than five minutes left in the game.

Two late drives – one of six plays and 48 yards, and one of four plays and 29 yards – ended in touchdowns, and the Colts walked out of their home stadium with the 35-34 win that kept them undefeated, put them three games ahead of their archrivals in the fight for home-field advantage in the playoffs, and tied New England's two 18-game winning streaks, the second-longest in NFL history behind the Pats' 21-gamer from 2003-2004.

Neither Brady nor Manning went into this game expecting a balanced attack – the Pats attempted 42 passes and the Colts 44 – and New England opened their first defensive series with two down linemen. Everyone knew what was coming, and neither defense was especially expert in stopping it. The Pats rolled tight end Dallas Clark(notes) in a ball of coverage, leaving Peyton's other targets open enough for Reggie Wayne(notes) to catch 10 balls and two touchdown passes (including the game-winner) and Pierre Garcon(notes) to haul in three catches and a score. New England espoused a little more of a ground attack, getting decent yardage out of do-it-all back Kevin Faulk(notes), but the home runs had to come from Brady and Randy Moss(notes), who exploited Indy's undermanned secondary for nine catches and two touchdowns.

From a star standpoint, it was as even as it gets – both glamour-boy quarterbacks and #1 receivers had their A-game going, and it took one very questionable late coaching decision to allow the Colts to pull away at the end. When Bill Belichick decided to go for it with 2:08 left in the game and fourth-and-2 from his own 28-yard line, he was either exhibiting too much confidence in his offense, or not enough in his defense. The short pass to Kevin Faulk was bobbled by the receiver, and the call was to deny Faulk the forward progress that would have given New England the first down and the game. Having used up all his timeouts, the coach couldn't challenge the call. Chris Chase will take a closer look at this decision, but in an achingly tight game that lived up to every battle of its kind, Belichick walked away knowing that the key to his team's defeat lay in his own hand.

Still, it's wrong not to lay equivalent credit for the win at Peyton Manning's feet. No matter how far the Colts get, at the end of this season, we're going to look back at the way Manning is playing as one of those "we can tell our grandkids about this" extended performances that define all that's great about this game we love. And once again, the Patriots-Colts game was everything it was cracked up to be.

It's not often that you see reigning conference sack leaders hitting the bench without fully disclosed injury situations, but that's just what's happened in Miami, as the Dolphins have elected to sit linebacker Joey Porter(notes) against the 1-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The reason? "Coach's decision", according to the team. Porter has been struggling with knee and hamstring issues and was listed as probable on Friday's injury report after missing Wednesday and Thursday drills and participating in full practice on Friday. The decision to sit Porter, who did not speak to the local media this week, was made after Friday practice.

Not speaking to the media is an unusual act for Porter. Last week, before Miami's 27-17 loss to the New England Patriots, the outspoken defender claimed that the league had specific rules designed to protect Tom Brady(notes), that he had a "natural hate" for the Patriots, and that the Pats were "cheaters", an obvious dig back to the Spygate days. But in the game, Porter was completely shut down by rookie left tackle Sebastian Vollmer(notes) -- he registered no sacks and no tackles. His backup, former CFL standout Cameron Wake(notes), has been as productive as Porter, registering 11 tackles to Porter's 12, and 3.5 sacks to Porter's 2.5. It's a big comedown for a guy who had 17.5 sacks a season ago, but the downturn can't be too much of a surprise. Porter's sack total last year was five more than in his two prior seasons combined, and at 32, he's hit an age when most edge defenders start to trend down.

Word is that Porter will be replaced in this game by Matt Roth(notes) or Charlie Anderson(notes), and Wake will get more looks as well. But the important thing to note in this case is that the Dolphins have gone out of their way to indicate that injury is not the reason that Porter is out -- team spokesman Harvey Greene told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald that this is not a coach deciding that a player will sit because he can't go.

Is this a motivational tactic or a peek into the future? When asked recently about Porter's disappointing season, head coach Tony Sparano didn't go there. "I see no frustration," Sparano said. "I don't think that he's affected, but what I do see is a guy that's played in enough football games to know ‘there's some things I need to do better out there.' There's a lot of things that people say about Joey that are not always favorable, but one of the good things about Joey is [that] the guy's a pretty good pro. He sees it, he knows. When he sees it, and he knows, he takes it personally. The guy cares, and I think that's a hell of a quality to have when you've played the game for as many years as Joey."

Former New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton has once again spoken up on the new generation. The 69-year-old Hall-of-Famer, who at one point held just about every major career passing record and played in three Super Bowls, has a successful life after football as a sometime TV personality and full-time entrepreneur. But that doesn't keep him from opining on the current group of signal-callers who draw his ire for various reasons.

First, there were his May, 2009 comments on 790 the Zone in Atlanta about serial retiree Brett Favre(notes). When asked about Favre's continued dalliances with the NFL, Tarkenton was more than succinct.

"I think it's despicable. What he put the Packers through last year was not good. Here's an organization that was loyal to him for 17, 18 years, provided stability of organization, provided players. It just wasn't about Brett Favre. In this day and time, we have glorified the Brett Favres of the world so much, they think it's about them ... I kind of hope (Favre's unretirement) happens, so he can fail."

Well, bah, humbug! Of course, Favre put us all through a few months of media torture in his current comeback to the Vikings, but he's certainly isn't failing. As he acclimates to Minnesota's offense, he's lighting it up at an age when most quarterbacks only wish they could. Having swung and missed on Favre, Tarkenton has now taken aim at another NFC Norris quarterback -- one Jay Cutler(notes), fresh from his five-pick disaster against the 49ers last Thursday. Back on the radio went Fran, and back went the mouth into overdrive, on Chicago's "Waddle and Silvy Show" (no, really):

"I really question whether he can play. Quarterbacks need to make their team better. If it's a bad team, they can even make a bad team better. Somebody may say well, even Peyton Manning(notes) couldn't help the Bears. Yes, he could. Tom Brady(notes) could, too. They might not win the championship or get to the playoffs, but they would make that team better. Those wide receivers who are struggling would be better because they would make them better."

Tarkenton then went on to say that the best way for Cutler to prove him wrong was to march into offensive coordinator Ron Turner's office and "tell that coach [expletive]." Tarkenton related a story in which he told the young Dan Fouts to tell his offensive coordinator to kiss off. Of course, one of the guys responsible for Fouts' development was Bill Walsh, San Diego's offensive coordinator in 1976, and I sincerely question the professional future of any quarterback dumb enough to pop off to Walsh.

If he can take it as he dishes it out, I think the best advice for Tarkenton could be taken from that noted military philosopher, Sgt. Hulka: "Lighten up, Francis." The pressure on these guys is bad enough, even when it's self-imposed, without former greats copping headlines with their "Grumpy Old Men" routines at the worst possible time. Telling guys like Favre and Cutler to "get off my lawn!" just stings Tarkenton's own legacy, and that's a shame.

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

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