Power Rankings: Packers among the best

The Green Bay Packers’ dramatic win down in Dallas over the Cowboys bumped them up one spot in this week’s USA TODAY’s NFL Power Rankings, where they find themselves at No. 4 heading into Week 6.

Their opponents this week, the Minnesota Vikings, are coming off their own victorious effort in Chicago on Monday night. The Vikings find themselves up three spots from last week at No. 16.

Here’s what USA Today has to say about the Packers:

Add Aaron Jones to list of impact rookie running backs. His 125 rushing yards Sunday were more than Pack had collectively in last seven games.

And here’s their take on the Vikings:

They scratched out a victory Monday, but loss of Dalvin Cook and Sam Bradford's ongoing knee issues will probably relegate them to .500.

Elsewhere, the Packers jump two spots in Elliot Harrison’s Power Rankings for NFL Media, where they come in at No. 3.

From Harrison:

So happy for Davante Adams, who suffered a concussion on a scary hit just 10 days before logging the game-winning catch on Sunday. While the Fox broadcast gushed over Aaron Rodgers — which was deserved — his receiver made a leaping, twisting grab to bring the Cowboys to their knees. And,as chronicled by colleague Michael Silver, it was Adams' suggestion to go right back to the same route, after Rodgers nearly threw an interception on it the previous play. Which brings us to another point: Adams' effort before the game-winning catch was as important — when he did everything in his power to stop Jourdan Lewis from picking off Rodgers' errant pass. How may wideouts don't do that, especially on back-shoulder throws that inadvertently drift too far inside? By the way, Aaron Jones looks reeaaal nice, Clark.

Over at ESPN, the Packers are one away from the top spot:

From their website:

Where would the Packers be without Aaron Rodgers? He has thrown an NFL-best six touchdowns in the fourth quarter this season, and four of the six TDs have come with his team trailing. Green Bay has the fifth-best overall chances of making the playoffs.

Chris Simms bumps the Packers up one spot to No. 5 for his Bleacher Report power rankings:

From Simms:

I still have concerns about the Packers, specifically on defense. The defense isn't special, and the Cowboys had their way with it. When Aaron Rodgers is able to pull magic out of his butt like he did against Dallas, though, this is a hard team to beat.

To me, the best thing about Sunday's performance is that Green Bay seems to have found a runner in Aaron Jones. He should be able to take some pressure off Rodgers and the offense moving forward.

Rodgers, by the way, is the greatest quarterback I've ever seen. He's the greatest one-man show in the history of football, and he's able to lift a team like no one else in the league can. If he can get some help from the run game and the defense moving forward, the Packers are going to be a nightmare for opposing teams.

Over at Pro Football Focus, the Packers come in at No. 5:

From PFF:

Aaron Rodgers continued to build a case for being the league’s best quarterback last week in Dallas, throwing for three touchdowns on his 23 non-pressured dropbacks. It was the Packers’ run game, without Ty Montgomery, that might have pushed them over the edge against the Cowboys, however. Rookie Aaron Jones broke five tackles on his way to 125 yards on the ground (with 54 after contact). Their offense’s matchup against a stout Vikings defense Sunday afternoon will be worth the price of admission.

The Packers jump up two spots over at Yahoo Sports to reach the No. 2 spot in their rankings:

From Yahoo’s Frank Schwab:

The Chiefs deserve the No. 1 spot, but this is the team that seems to have the highest ceiling in the NFL. Consider that the Packers have dealt with pretty significant injuries and are 4-1. At some point they’re going to get healthy, and they’ll still have Aaron Rodgers when they do.