NFL power rankings, Week 15: Rams settling in near the bottom

The St. Louis Rams were again dismantled by a superior defense and an air assault from an opposing NFC West quarterback this week. It was Arizona doing the work last Sunday, giving the Rams their second straight road loss within the division. Needless to say, that didn't translate well to the power rankings for Week 15.

At SB Nation, they dropped one spot, from No. 19 to No. 20, this week. Here's what the blurb had to say following the loss:

After racking up 80 combined points against the Colts and Bears, the St. Louis offense has been brutally rebuffed in its return to NFC West competition. Everyone in the Rams' receiving corps hauled in their customary reception, but few managed more than two as the Cardinals' suffocating pass defense smothered everything Kellen Clemens tried to do. Robert Quinn got close on the pass rush, but couldn't bag any cigars - or keep the Rams' lame secondary from getting lit up by Larry Fitzgerald.

In the consolidated power rankings, a compilation of the numbers from the web's biggest sites, the Rams came in at No. 22. The lowest they got was a 23, but when you add in a bunch of platitudes about two picks in the 2014 NFL Draft it almost kind of ...

... no, it doesn't. Draft picks are great, but there's really no substitute for winning. With three games left to play, the Rams have a tough schedule to get through, it's the Saints in St. Louis this week, followed by the Buccaneers in Week 16 and wrapping up with a trip to Seattle.