Packers Rise in On SI NFL Power Rankings for Week 6

Here are the results from the latest On SI NFL Power Rankings. Where are the Packers and who is their season MVP through Week 5?

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) walks off the field after the Dallas Cowboys scored the go-ahead touchdown. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY; Wis. – It was a great bye week for the Green Bay Packers. Not only did they get healthier, but they moved up two spots in the On SI NFL Power Rankings.

The Packers moved up from No. 6 to No. 4 in our latest rankings, which are voted on by our group of team publishers and writers.

Even while suffering their first losses of the season last week, the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills clung to the top spots in our rankings at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. The surging Detroit Lions, who were blown out by the Packers in Week 1 but have rolled to four consecutive wins, remain No. 3. By first-place votes, it was Eagles, Lions and Bills.

Green Bay limped into the bye – literally and figuratively. After a blockbuster 2-0 start, it was upset 13-10 at Cleveland and had to settle for a 40-40 tie at Dallas. The offense was terrible against the Browns, the defense was terrible against the Cowboys and the special teams made enormous blunders in both.

“We are the defense that, them first three games, that’s our defense,” safety Xavier McKinney said after Monday’s practice. “That’s how we carry ourselves, the standard we want to hold ourselves to. I don’t think the last game was a tell-all of who we are as a defense. And we know that. Obviously, we went back to the drawing board, watched the film and worked on what we can do better.

“But I think moving forward, we know we have to be a lot more detailed with what we’re running and what we’re doing as a defense to have that not happen again. Because, obviously, we take pride in that. And giving up 40? I don’t give a damn how much the offense scores. If we’re giving up 40 points, that’s bad ball. So, we don’t take that lightly and, like I said, we’re back to the drawing board now and this week we’re going to be looking to get back on track with our defense.”

The team publishers also chose their team MVPs through Week 5. For the Packers, the choice was defensive end Micah Parsons.

Parsons has only 2.5 sacks, eight quarterback hits and one tackle for loss, according to the official league stats. But, through Week 4, he was tied for No. 1 in the NFL in pressures. Among 77 edge rushers who have played at least 80 pass-rushing snaps, Parsons is No. 3 in pass-rush win rate, according to PFF. And that’s with double- and triple-team rates of 63.8 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.

“Micah’s been outstanding,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the Dallas game. “He’s been consistent on a daily basis and just comes to work. He's got a good attitude and we're lucky to have him.”

The Packers will come out of their bye with a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals, who PFF has judged to have the worst offensive line in the league. They gave up 20 pressures last week against the Lions.

The Packers are No. 7 in our Consensus NFL Power Rankings.

Bill Huber’s Power Rankings Ballot

Here’s my 32-team ballot.

1, Detroit Lions; 2, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 3, Philadelphia Eagles; 4, Buffalo Bills; 5, San Francisco 49ers; 6, Indianapolis Colts; 7, Green Bay Packers; 8, Washington Commanders;

9, Los Angeles Chargers; 10, Denver Broncos; 11, Jacksonville Jaguars; 12, Los Angeles Rams; 13, Kansas City Chiefs; 14, Pittsburgh Steelers; 15, New England Patriots; 16, Seattle Seahawks;

17, Minnesota Vikings; 18, Dallas Cowboys; 19, Houston Texans; 20, Baltimore Ravens; 21, Chicago Bears; 22, Arizona Cardinals; 23, Atlanta Falcons; 24, Carolina Panthers;

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

Green Bay’s win over Detroit in Week 1 wasn’t a fluke, but the Lions’ performance in that game seems like an outlier. They’ve won four in a row, and while those four teams have combined to win only six games, they crushed three of those opponents and finished strong to win at Baltimore.

Detroit is plus-62 in scoring, best in the NFC by 21 points.

Six of my top eight teams are from the NFC. No team has been more impressive than the 49ers, who are 4-1 despite a dizzying array of injuries that makes Green Bay’s injury list look like a series of paper cuts. They beat the Rams – a quality opponent – on Thursday without quarterback Brock Purdy, receivers Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, and tight end George Kittle. Backup quarterback Mac Jones threw for 342 yards, anyway.

Here is the link to the full rankings and team MVPs.