The Green Bay Packers have won three straight games and continue to rise in the USA Today NFL power rankings entering Week 8. Since dropping as low as 26th, the Packers are now up to No. 17 after jumping two spots following a primetime win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.
Memories are long, and no one is considering the Packers a top 10 team quite yet. But the arrow is pointed up in Green Bay.
From Nate Davis of USA Today: "Things are very suddenly looking up. Three straight wins, the Pack allowing 14 points or fewer in each − they haven't had that kind of stretch in a decade − and RB Josh Jacobs has rejoined a team averaging a league-worst 59.8 rushing yards per game. Just wait until they get OLB Micah Parsons back, and/or their wideouts
stop dropping gimme TD passes."
Once 1-2 and staring down the barrel of a lost season, the Packers are now 4-2 and right back in the mix in the NFC North. Jordan Love and the Packers defense have been excellent during the win streak, and the upside moving forward is two-fold: Josh Jacobs and Micah Parsons will return, and the Packers are winning despite lingering problems with drops and penalties. If Jacobs and Parsons provide jolts, and Matt LaFleur's team can get incrementally better at holding onto the ball and avoiding game-shifting penalties, the Packers could be formidable down the stretch.
A big game and pivotal stretch await. The Packers will go on the road to play the Detroit Lions, who rank 11th coming off the bye week, on Sunday at Ford Field. From there, the Packers will host the Carolina Panthers (No. 10) on a short week, go to New England to play the Patriots (No. 8) in Week 9 and then welcome the Minnesota Vikings (No. 3) to Lambeau Field before the bye.
Packers power rankings by week (USA Today)
- Week 1: No. 16
- Week 2: No. 22
- Week 3: No. 20
- Week 4: No. 26
- Week 5: No. 26
- Week 6: No. 19
- Week 7: No. 17
Here's where the Packers rank in other national power rankings entering Week 7:
ESPN: No. 11 (up 3 spots)
From Rob Demovsky on the offense's biggest issue: "Maybe this changes with the return of Josh Jacobs, who came off the commissioner exempt list this week. Without Jacobs for the first six games, the Packers have averaged only 59.8 rushing yards -- worst in the league by more than 16 yards and the third fewest by any team through six games in the past 20 seasons. MarShawn Lloyd, who missed most of the past two seasons because of injuries, is finally healthy but has averaged just 1.27 yards after contact -- 42nd among 43 qualified running backs. Kaleb Johnson has Green Bay's longest run of the season at 31 yards, but he has fumbled twice and barely played the past two weeks."
Yahoo Sports: No. 14 (up 4 spots)
From Frank Schwab: "There are many teams that are impossible to rank after six weeks. The Packers were so bad through four weeks, despite a 2-2 record, that plenty of fans wanted Matt LaFleur fired immediately. Through three weeks this season they had lost seven of eight going back to last season. They couldn't run the ball or protect Jordan Love and Green Bay's defense was below average. The Packers barely beat the Buccaneers and Jets, who are a combined 3-9. The first month was bad, and there shouldn't be any revisionist history about that. Then the last two weeks, the Packers blew out the Bears and Cowboys, and are suddenly 4-2 and on a roll. Had you just watched the last two games and nothing else, you'd think the Packers might be a top-five team at worst. But the first four weeks did happen too. The Packers still struggle mightily to run the ball and to protect Love, though the QB was masterful against pressure on Sunday night. Green Bay, like many other teams this season, is hard to figure out.
CBS Sports: No. 12 (up 2 spots)
From Pete Prisco: "We knew the offense will get it going with the explosive passing game, but it's the improved defense that has turned their season around. That unit will be tested on the road this week against the Lions."
The Athletic: No. 13 (up 1 spot)
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff on Matthew Golden: "The second-year wide receiver was drafted 129th on average, and he’s 46th in fantasy scoring (16.8 ppg). And that’s not even the best part for folks who have him on their team. Golden has been over 20 points in three of the last four games, and since Week 3, he is seventh in the league in receiving yards (348), just 2 shy of teammate Christian Watson. All three of Golden’s career 100-yard games have come in the last month."
FOX Sports: No. 14 (top 8 spots)
From Ralph Vacchiano: "OK, Mike LaFleur just did a nice job pulling himself out of the theoretical hot seat and putting the Packers back into the fire of the NFC North. The Packers are 4-2 and have won three straight games. Jordan Love and the offense has clicked in that span, and the defense has been excellent, too. So why are they ranked this low? Because they barely beat the Bucs, they beat the Bears without Caleb Williams and then beat the reeling Cowboys. They can’t do anything about the schedule, but let’s see how it goes at Detroit, vs. Carolina, at New England and vs. Minnesota in the month leading into their bye week before I put my cheesehead on."
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers continue to climb up NFL power rankings after win over Cowboys
