Packer Central

Packers Remain in Top 5 of Latest On SI NFL Power Rankings

The Green Bay Packers weren’t overly impressive in beating the Bengals last week. But at least they won. Here are the new On SI NFL Power Rankings, as voted on by team publishers.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) and wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) celebrate Josh Jacobs' touchdown against the Bengals.
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) and wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) celebrate Josh Jacobs' touchdown against the Bengals. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY; Wis. – The Green Bay Packers didn’t get many style points for holding off the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, but at least they won.

The top three teams in last week’s On SI NFL Power Rankings lost in Week 6, meaning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved from No. 5 to No. 1 in our new Week 7 rankings, which are voted on by our team publishers.

After four wins by a combined nine points, the Buccaneers handled the 49ers 30-19 last week to improve to 5-1.

The Philadelphia Eagles, who were No. 1 last week, lost at the New York Giants. They fell to No. 3.

The Buffalo Bills, who were No. 2 last week, lost at the Atlanta Falcons but stayed at No. 2.

The Detroit Lions, who were No. 3 last week, lost at the Kansas City Chiefs and dipped to No. 6.

The Packers, meanwhile, held steady at No. 4 after beating the Bengals 27-18. Their once-vaunted defense allowed Joe Flacco to lead three consecutive scoring drives in the second half to pull the Bengals within 6 points. Green Bay responded with a field goal on a drive highlighted by Jordan Love’s 31-yard pass to Matthew Golden on third-and-8.

Coach Matt LaFleur said he felt “a sense of relief” after the game.

“It’s a long season, it’s a very competitive league (and) you see it a lot of these games are going down right to the wire, so you’ve got to find a way,” LaFleur said. “And I think sometimes going through some tough moments and getting punched in the face and having that no-flinch mentality and finding a way makes you better down the stretch. Because when you get down the stretch, a lot of those games are like that.”

The Packers will play at Arizona on Sunday; the Cardinals are No. 23. After that, it’s a date against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are No. 10.

Bill Huber’s Ballot

Here’s my 32-team ballot and a few explanations.

1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 2, Indianapolis Colts; 3, Kansas City Chiefs; 4, Buffalo Bills; 5, Pittsburgh Steelers; 6, Green Bay Packers; 7, Detroit Lions; 8, Seattle Seahawks;

9, Philadelphia Eagles; 10, San Francisco 49ers; 11, Los Angeles Rams; 12, Los Angeles Chargers; 13, Denver Broncos; 14, New England Patriots; 15, Jacksonville Jaguars; 16, Atlanta Falcons;

17, Houston Texans; 18, Chicago Bears; 19, Minnesota Vikings; 20, Baltimore Ravens; 21, Washington Commanders; 22, Dallas Cowboys; 23, Arizona Cardinals; 24, New York Giants;

25, Carolina Panthers; 26, Las Vegas Raiders; 27, Cleveland Browns; 28, Cincinnati Bengals; 29, Miami Dolphins; 30, Tennessee Titans; 31, New Orleans Saints; 32, New York Jets.

There are two teams that are 5-1 through Week 6. One of them is Tampa Bay, which has the best record in the NFC, a conference in which 10 teams have a winning record. The other is Indianapolis, though the Colts have played one of the easiest schedules in the league with their opponents having a winning percentage of .389.

At No. 3 on my ballot is Kansas City. The Chiefs are only 3-3 – they wouldn’t be in the playoffs if the season ended today – but they were superb against the powerful Lions on Sunday and have won three of their last four games.

The team I struggled with was the San Francisco 49ers, who I placed at No. 10. The Packers have been the picture of health and vitality by comparison. Despite playing without Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa and now Fred Warner, they are 4-2. Who knows how long they can keep winning with an all-star team on the injured list, but coach Kyle Shanahan is a magician.

I probably undervalued the Jaguars at No. 15. Of the 14 teams who would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, the Jags’ have the second-toughest strength of victory.

I also was probably too hard on the Lions, who were my No. 1 team last week before losing at Kansas City. I moved them behind Green Bay to No. 7 this week.

Here’s a link to the full rankings as well as our best next-man-up choices.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.