Composite NFL Power Rankings: Packers Inch Up to Fourth
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers aren’t earning many style points but who is in this year’s NFL?
Last week, 15 of the 16 games were within one score at some point in the fourth quarter, the most in NFL history. The Packers were part of that, obviously, needing overtime to dispatch the New England Patriots.
The Packers will face the New York Giants on Sunday in London. Both teams are 3-1 but the Packers are No. 4 in our Composite NFL Power Rankings, a combination of our rankings and those of seven national media outlets.
“Sure, they went to overtime against a Patriots team that played its second- and third-string quarterbacks, but the Packers were quite obviously the better team on Sunday,” wrote The Ringer’s Austin Gayle, who ranked Green Bay No. 3. “The defense gave up some shots on play-action, rookie Romeo Doubs fumbled the ball and dropped what would have been a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and Aaron Rodgers made a boneheaded end-of-half throw that resulted in a pick-six. The good news is Rodgers otherwise played at the level we’re accustomed to, and wide receiver Allen Lazard and running back Aaron Jones picked up the slack as needed—the duo combined for 231 yards on 25 touches. Don’t overreact to the close game; the Packers are still the team to beat in the NFC ahead of the Eagles (for now).”
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The Giants weren’t even close to cracking our Top 10. The Giants’ high-water mark was 14th at ESPN.com.
“The Giants have a top-10 pass defense at the moment,” ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan wrote. “But they're going to have to rush the passer more effectively if that is going to continue. The Giants are 19th in the NFL with a pass rush win rate of 41.2 percent. They don't have an edge rusher with more than one sack and have called the third-most blitzes (57) so far this season. It might work against the quarterbacks they faced, but life is about to get much more difficult with Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence and Geno Smith on deck.”
While the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles were No. 1 on five of the eight ballots, they wound up being tied at No. 1 with the Buffalo Bills.
Packer Central: 1, Eagles; 2, Bills; 3, Chiefs; 4, Dolphins; 5, Packers; 6, Ravens; 7, Buccaneers; 8, 49ers; 9, Vikings; 10, Cowboys.
SI.com: 1, Eagles; 2, Bills; 3, Chiefs; 4, Dolphins; 5, Ravens; 6, Packers; 7, Cowboys; 8, Buccaneers; 9, Rams; 10, Vikings.
ESPN.com: 1, Chiefs; 2, Bills; 3, Eagles; 4, Packers; 5, Dolphins; 6, Rams; 7, Vikings; 8, Buccaneers; 9, Ravens; 10, Bengals.
NFL.com: 1, Eagles; 2, Bills; 3, Chiefs; 4, Packers; 5, 49ers; 6, Bengals; 7, Ravens; 8, Buccaneers; 9, Vikings; 10, Dolphins.
Pro Football Talk: 1, Eagles; 2, Bills; 3, Chiefs; 4, Packers; 5, Dolphins; 6, Cowboys; 7, Buccaneers; 8, Bengals; 9, Ravens; 10, Jaguars.
CBSSports.com: 1, Eagles; 2, Bills; 3, Chiefs; 4, Packers; 5, Dolphins; 6, Buccaneers; 7, Vikings; 8, Cowboys; 9, 49ers; 10, Rams.
The 33rd Team: 1, Bills; 2, Eagles; 3, Chiefs; 4, Bengals; 5, Dolphins; 6, Ravens; 7, Buccaneers; 8, 49ers; 9, Rams; 10, Chargers. (Packers, 12th).
The Ringer: 1, Bills; 2, Chiefs; 3, Packers; 4, Eagles; 5, Buccaneers; 6, Ravens; 7, Dolphins; 8, Bengals; 9, Chargers; 10, 49ers.
The Composite Top 10: 1, Eagles (14), 1, Bills (14); 3, Chiefs (21); 4, Packers (42); 5, Dolphins (45); 6, Buccaneers (56); 7, Ravens (59); 8, 49ers (75); 9, Vikings (79); 10, Rams (80).
