Power Rankings: Wide-open style dominating play

September is gone, and the NFL minefield already has scattered carcasses all over the country.

The messiest is that of the St. Louis Rams, who would need 10 of the best surgeons in the world to piece that mess together. Or one good one to fix Kurt Warner's fractured finger.

The reality is the 0-4 Rams, once a Super Bowl favorite, are going to bleed to death, a slow, miserable, painful death that won't elicit much sympathy from others.

Dominating with power running, LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers are the exception to the early trend.(AP)

St. Louis is not alone. The 1-3 Jets would need a miracle to be resurrected, and the Steelers still have major trauma wounds.

Then there are the Bengals and Lions, the perennial carcasses, lying nearby. Do they ever come back?

There have been several teams that have come back from the dead in the first month. Who thought the Panthers or Saints would be 3-1?

Only time will tell if they stay there.

The first month has been about life, the renewed life of the passing game. It has given rise to a wide-open style that has purists yearning for the days of power football and others salivating at the wild action.

The Oakland Raiders lead the NFL in passing. They are also the best team in the league right now, sitting atop the SportsLine.com Power Rankings. They lost coach Jon Gruden, but the offense has been even better.

Offensive coordinator Marc Trestman has allowed quarterback Rich Gannon to become a passing machine. The results are that the Raiders are 3-0 and have turned games into games that resemble two-touch affairs in the street, where nothing but passes are the norm.

Chucky who? Gruden's Bucs are ranked 20th in total offense.

Five of the league's top 10 in total offense would be considered among the elite.

In addition to Oakland they are New England (2), Green Bay (4), Philadelphia (7) and Miami (8). That's further proof that offensive football, especially passing the ball, has become an early trend.

Those who can't throw the ball consistently might end up finding their way to the carcass heap. The Chargers, so far, have disproved that theory, throwing for 142.8 yards a game yet jumping to a 4-0 record.

San Diego and Oakland are the two remaining unbeaten teams, with Denver going down Monday night. The Chargers beat the Super Bowl-champion Patriots as LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 217 yards.

The Chargers go to Denver this week for a key AFC West game, their first real tough road test. Plus, the Chargers must meet Denver at home later in the season, and they still have two games left with the Raiders.

For now, the Bolts are among the elite playing Marty Ball.

After a month, the AFC West has become the division of choice. Even Kansas City, the bottom team, is 2-2 and just put up 41 on a good Miami defense.

This is one division where the carcass might not rot for a long time.

Eventually, though, it will happen. One or two of these teams will fall off, their wounds will prove to be too much, the will to survive not enough.

For teams like the Rams and Jets, that will is being tested in a big way. Can they make it back? It's highly unlikely. They are two teams that once seemed like brave, tough soldiers.