Power Rankings: Packers vault into Top 10
After their victory Saturday over the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers were the biggest movers in the USA TODAY NFL Power Rankings. They shot up six spots to enter Week 17 at No. 6.
Green Bay is preparing to face the Detroit Lions, who actually rose one spot despite losing to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. The Lions sit at No. 9.
Here’s USA TODAY's blurb about the Packers:
Aaron Rodgers is one win from making good on "run the table" prediction and isn't leaving many table scraps (11 TDs, 0 INTs) during win streak.
And the rankings had this to say about the Lions:
Monday's loss was definitely a setback to playoff hopes, but maybe they at least found something in second-year RB Zach Zenner.
Elsewhere around the web, the Packers jumped one spot in ESPN’s power rankings, which puts them at No. 8.
Aaron Rodgers has reconnected with Jordy Nelson during the Packers' five-game winning streak. Rodgers has completed 80.9 percent of his passes to Nelson in that time after completing 56.4 percent in the first 10 games. Rodgers needs a few more big plays to Nelson to seal a playoff spot at Detroit this week.
Over at NFL.com, Elliot Harrison has the Packers just outside the Top 5, with Green Bay landing at No. 6.
Too high for the Packers ? Can't be. Green Bay has won five in a row on the strength of Aaron Rodgers ' right arm and a defense that has completely turned it around since that awful loss in Washington . Well, not totally, as the Cheesehead secondary had enough holes in it to let the Sam Bradford- Adam Thielen combo resemble the Randall Cunningham-Randy Moss connection circa 1998. The whole key now is whether the Packers can run the football when it counts.
Finally, Pete Prisco vaults the Pack eight spots, landing them at No. 8 in the CBS Sports NFL Power Rankings.
Writes Prisco:
Nobody will want to play them in the playoffs. They have a division-deciding game with the Lions this week.