Packers lack believers in new NFL power rankings entering Week 5 - Packers Wire
The Green Bay Packers' three-point win in Tampa Bay on Sunday did little to convert new believers in Matt LaFleur's squad. In the latest NFL power rankings update from Nate Davis of USA Today, the Packers remained at No. 26 overall.
The six teams below the Packers in the rankings have a combined one win and a record of 1-23, and the group includes five 0-4 teams and the 1-3 New York Jets.
From Davis: "Still no Josh Jacobs. Still no Micah Parsons. And now standout LB Edgerrin Cooper is out for the season with an Achilles tear. Getting increasingly difficult to view this squad as a playoff entry, especially given the narrow win at Tampa."
The non-believers in the Packers have a lot of ammo. Green Bay's two wins this season featured a 10-point comeback and overtime against the New York Jets and a three-point win over an undrafted rookie quarterback making his first NFL start. The Packers have faced one of the NFL's easiest schedules, especially in terms of quarterbacks faced, and even the wins have been like a trip to the dentist. And now Edgerrin Cooper, Jayden Reed and Zach Bako-Bewele are out for the season with injuries. The ceiling of this football team is looking lower and lower every week.
You know what would help the Packers regain believers? Beating the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Sunday. The Bears are USA Today's No. 10 ranked team and are coming off back-to-back wins with a backup quarterback under center.
From Rob Demovsky on the first four weeks: "Without Josh Jacobs and with an offensive line in flux, the Packers haven't been able to run the ball. They're last in the league in rushing yards per game (58), and they haven't scored a rushing touchdown yet. There were some signs of life Sunday, but Chris Brooks left because of an ankle injury and both Kaleb Johnson and MarShawn Lloyd fumbled. 'I think a great teacher's the bench,' coach Matt LaFleur said of the fumbles. 'If guys don't start holding on to the ball, they're going to be sitting on the bench.' The problem is he doesn't have any other options at this point."
From Frank Schwab: "The Packers won. They faced an undrafted rookie quarterback making his first start and escaped with a 17-14 victory when the Buccaneers threw incomplete on fourth-and-11 from the Packers' 47-yard line. That's not exactly the dominant performance that will get Packers fans off Matt LaFleur's back. But a win is a win. Green Bay comes home and plays the Bears in Week 5, a game that was flexed out of the late afternoon time slot in part because of Caleb Williams' injury but also because the Packers aren't that interesting. A third straight loss to the Bears, including last season's horrid collapse in the wild-card round, will have Green Bay fans again calling for LaFleur's job."
From Pete Prisco: "It wasn't pretty against the Bucs, especially with two bad turnovers, but they found a way. The heat is off Matt LaFleur for now but here come the dreaded Bears."
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff: "The Packers are not feeling good even though they’re coming off a win. They still can’t run the ball, and the whole offense looks disjointed. And what’s looming? A visit from their bitter rivals that could really put a damper on this already frustrating season."
From Conor Orr: "Matt LaFleur trying to simply get his house in order while Ben Johnson constructs three-dimensional mindgames through the media is such an incredible subplot to this game on Sunday. I’ve written it before, but this is the kind of antagonist this league desperately needs."
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