Consensus NFL Power Rankings: After Stunning Fall, Stunning Rise for Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – How low could they go? And now, how high did they rise?

After a blowout loss to the Falcons and a lackluster win over the Buccaneers, the Green Bay Packers were 24th in last week’s Packers On SI Consensus NFL Power Rankings. However, their dominating win over the Bears on Sunday certainly changed the narrative.

First, what are the Consensus Power Rankings? We take eight of the best national power rankings and turn them into one better-than-the-best power ranking. Following a 31-7 win over Chicago, the Packers zoomed up all the way to 14th. That’s a 10-spot improvement based on one victory that seemed more in line with the preseason expectations.

Here are this week’s rankings, with more extensive analysis available by following the links.

Pro Football Talk: 11th

Nobody moved the Packers up further than Mike Florio, who shot them up 12 spots from No. 23.

He liked Green Bay’s approach to the rivalry win: “When your adversary keeps talking, stay quiet and wait for your opportunity.”

Sports Illustrated: 12th

The Packers rocketed up 10 spots from No. 22 in Conor Orr’s rankings.

“I get that I cannot, one week, punish the Steelers for what I considered a fluke victory over the Bengals (at the time) because Aaron Rodgers had too much time in the pocket, then vastly pump up the Packers for a deep aerial assault of the Bears, without drawing some ire,” he wrote. “The difference here is that Matt LaFleur has figured out how to run play action without a running game. And it’s leading to massive chunk plays.” 

CBS: 14th

The Packers were the biggest movers in Pete Prisco’s rankings, leaping up 10 spots from No. 24.

“They were able to unleash Jordan Love against the Bears,” he wrote. “It needs to stay that way going forward. The deep passing game is their best option.”

The Athletic: 14th

The Packers zoomed up nine spots from No. 23 in the rankings selected by Josh Kendall and Chad Graff.

This week’s theme is who have they beaten. For Green Bay, it’s the woeful Jets, the Buccaneers with a backup quarterback and the Bears with a backup quarterback.

“The win over the Bears looks more impressive than it probably was considering the quarterback play Chicago got, but there’s no sense in apologizing for a win over a bitter rival that’s talking a lot of smack,” they wrote. “Jordan Love was exceptional Sunday, and Christian Watson looks like a true No. 1 wide receiver.”

ESPN: 14th

The Packers shot up nine spots from 23rd in the rankings voted on by ESPN’s team beat writers.

This week’s theme is the biggest issue on defense. Rob Demovsky focused on the serious injuries to key players.

“In back-to-back weeks, the Packers lost linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to season-ending Achilles injuries,” he wrote as part of a larger analysis. “Cooper was their best linebacker; Hargrave their most experienced defensive lineman. And who knows when edge rusher Micah Parsons will play?”

NFL.com: 16th

The Packers took the express lane up 11 spots in Nick Shook’s rankings, with the offense reaching Shook’s expectations.

As part of a longer writeup, Shook said: “Love delivered a fantastic performance, throwing for 367 yards and two majestic touchdowns to Christian Watson, demolishing a Bears team that couldn’t stop giving the ball to Green Bay’s suddenly feisty defense. Adding Micah Parsons into this equation soon makes the Packers one of the teams we must pay close attention to going forward.”

Yahoo: 18th

The Packers moved up six spots from No. 24 in Frank Schwab’s rankings.

“Through all the (justifiable) angst over the Packers' start, they're 3-2 coming off a blowout win over the Bears, who were the favorite to win the division,” Schwab wrote as part of a longer analysis.

“The Packers looked mostly poor during the first four weeks, but they find themselves in a good place now. There are things to clean up, but the trio of Jordan Love, Matthew Golden and Christian Watson might keep Green Bay in the playoff race.”

Fox Sports: 22nd

Ralph Vacchiano was the one writer who took a conservative approach. He inched the Packers up only three spots from No. 25.

“The Packers' blowout win over the Bears was certainly out of nowhere, and probably some sweet revenge for Matt LaFleur’s team,” he wrote as part of a longer analysis. “The Packers still can’t really run the ball, and that’s going to hold them back. But Love and an improving defense have been enough to get them to 3-2. It doesn’t look pretty, but they have a chance to stay on their offensive roll with the Cowboys, Lions and Panthers up next.

This Week’s Opponent: Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are 20th in our rankings following an upset loss to the Buccaneers last week. They ranged from 15th to 23rd, including No. 21 at Fox Sports, where Ralph Vacchiano has them one spot behind Green Bay.

“I’m sure there have been worse losses in recent Cowboys' history than their Thursday night debacle at home against the winless Buccaneers, but I can’t think of any right now,” he wrote. “It’s pretty clear by now that Jerry Jones’ weird rebuilding of his defense created something worse. But where has the offense gone?”

Latest Packers Odds

Sportsbook odds aren’t part of our rankings, but they do provide another perspective. In Packers-related odds at FanDuel Sportsbook:

The Packers were +2000 to win the Super Bowl before Week 1 but have been in retreat. They fell to +3000 before facing the Jets and +3300 before hosting the Falcons but crashed to +6000 after losing to the Falcons. They stayed at +6000 after winning at Tampa Bay and briefly moved to +5000 after beating the Bears but are back at +6000.

In NFC North Super Bowl odds, the Bears are +1700, the Lions are +2200 and the Vikings are +2200. The Bears’ odds actually improved after losing to Green Bay; they had been +2000.

Green Bay opened the season ranked seventh in the NFC playoff odds (-112), fell to as low as 12th at +250 after the win at Tampa Bay, and are now 11th at +184. Among the division teams, the Vikings are -370, the Lions are -178 and the Bears are -146.

Quarterback Jordan Love opened at +2200 to win NFL MVP and remained there entering the Atlanta game. He plunged to +10000 but rebounded to +7500 after his powerhouse showing against Chicago.

At DraftKings, the NFC North championship odds still have the Vikings at the front and the Packers at the rear. The Vikings are a strong favorite at +100, followed by the Lions at +300, the Bears at +360 and the Packers at +730. Green Bay was +990 at this time last week. By implied probability, the Packers went from a 9.2 percent chance of winning the North to 12.1 percent.

Packers On SI’s Consensus Power Rankings

1, San Francisco 49ers, 8 points (all eight first-place votes); 2, Kansas City Chiefs, 17 points; 3, Buffalo Bills, 31 points; 4, Jacksonville Jaguars, 34 points; 5, Seattle Seahawks, 40 points; 6, Minnesota Vikings, 48 points; 7, Baltimore Ravens, 50 points; 8, Denver Broncos, 72 points;

9, Los Angeles Rams, 75 points; 10, New England Patriots, 81 points; Cincinnati Bengals, 91 points; 12, Chicago Bears, 98 points; 13, Detroit Lions, 105 points; 14, Green Bay Packers, 121 points; T-15, Las Vegas Raiders, 131 points; T-15, Carolina Panthers, 131 points;

17, Pittsburgh Steelers, 135 points; 18, New York Giants, 143 points; 19, Philadelphia Eagles, 153 points; 20, Dallas Cowboys, 154 points; 21, Atlanta Falcons, 162 points; 22, Cleveland Browns, 166 points; 23, Houston Texans, 175 points; 24, Indianapolis Colts, 187 points;

25, New York Jets, 197 points; 26, New Orleans Saints, 212 points; 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 213 points; 28, Washington Commanders, 218 points; 29, Arizona Cardinals, 233 points; 30, Los Angeles Chargers, 239 points; T-31, Tennessee Titans, 251 points; T-31, Miami Dolphins, 251 points.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER