Week 8 NFL Power Rankings Roundup: Packers Unanimous Bottom-10 Team

Here’s where you’ll find the falling Packers and the surging Vikings in our latest review of 10 national NFL power rankings.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – About a month ago, the Green Bay Packers moved inside the top 10 of some NFL power rankings. Now, following a three-game losing streak that includes losses to a pair of lightweights, the Packers are a unanimous bottom-10 team.

Every week, we assemble 10 national power rankings. The Packers range from 23rd to 28th in those rankings with an average spot of 25.3.

After wasting golden opportunities to win at Las Vegas and Denver, the Packers will return home for tougher matchups the next two weeks against the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams.

The Vikings won the NFC North championship last year but started this season with three consecutive losses decided by a total of 11 points. However, they’ve won three of their last four – their lone loss to the Kansas City Chiefs – and just upset the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.

Here’s where you’ll find the Packers and Vikings in our 10-rankings panel. A longer analysis is available by clicking the links.

Sports Illustrated: 23rd

Last week: 21st

The Packers were limited to 17 points by a Broncos defense that gave up 70 against Miami. Denver’s horrendous performance might have been an anomaly, but the Packers’ offensive performance was not. Jordan Love’s two-touchdown performance, highlighted by a lucky ricochet, was misleading, Conor Orr wrote.

“One stat that was not misleading? AJ Dillon led the team in both receiving and rushing. This is not a sustainable recipe for the Packers moving forward. The Packers are 29th in ESPN’s run block win rate metric. It shows.”

NFL.com: 23rd

Last week: 20th

Eric Edholm writes a lot of draft content for NFL.com. So, he used that as his launching point on the Packers. “Jordan Love threw a pick in his fourth straight game. Packers fans just aren't used to this level of carelessness in their quarterbacks -- this is Matt Flynn country, so I get it. I haven't looked at a mock draft since April, so forgive me, but at this point, I'll assume some Green Bay backers are skipping a few steps and giving the team a new first-round quarterback, no questions asked.”

Pro Football Network: 23rd

Last week: 20th

In the loss to Denver, the offense was doomed by a slow start and Love’s late interception. The defense couldn’t stop the run and failed to produce a takeaway. Wrote Dalton Miller: “In the end, the young quarterback still has a very long way to go, and having such an inexperienced group of weapons around him is not the best environment.”

ESPN.com: 24th

Last week: 20th.

The theme for this week’s ESPN power rankings is rising young player. Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky picked rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who delivered first downs with a reception, pass and block against the Broncos. “Young players are about all the Packers have,” Demovsky wrote. “In fact, they have 25 players aged 24 or younger. Jordan Love is under 25. So are all but one of his receivers and one of his tight ends. Wicks is the youngest of them at all at age 22 (he won't turn 23 until next June).”

USA Today: 26th

Last week: 21st

Nate Davis couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room. “They've been outscored 46-6 in the first half during their three-game slide, holes not even finally healthy RB Aaron Jones can be expected to lift a team out of.”

Packers WR Romeo Doubs runs to daylight vs. Denver :: Photo by Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports Images

CBS Sports: 26th

Last week: 24th

The Packers were sixth in Pete Prisco’s rankings following a 2-1 start. Now, they are almost sixth from the bottom. “Losing to the Broncos off a bye is not a good look,” Prisco wrote. “It took them way too long to get the offense going. They need to play looser on offense than they did in the first half.”

The 33rd Team: 26th

Last week: 25th

The offense “laid an egg” after a bye week and the defense was good but not good enough. The next four games are at home against the Vikings and Rams, at the Steelers and at home against the Chargers. As Ryan Reynolds said: “Green Bay plays a string of similarly desperate teams in the next four weeks. That schedule stretch will largely determine its season.”

Pro Football Talk: 27th

Last week: 24th

Wrote Mike Florio: “The cheese is quickly getting moldy.”

The Athletic: 27th

Last week: 25th

“What happened to Jordan Love?” wondered Josh Kendall. “The Packers quarterback looked like he was growing into the starting job early in the season, but since Week 3, he is 33rd in the league in passer rating (64.9) and completion percentage (58.2). Nobody has thrown more than Love’s seven interceptions in that time period, and his 14.2 percent off-target percentage is the fifth highest.”

Yahoo: 28th

Last week: 25th.

Frank Schwab doesn’t see much reason to believe in Love. “The problem with Jordan Love's struggles is he's not a rookie. He sat for three years. That makes it harder to excuse him playing like a rookie. You don't want to give up on anyone after six games, but Love has given Green Bay very little reason to believe he's the answer.”

Next Opponent: Minnesota Vikings

Following a shocking victory over the 49ers on Monday night, the Vikings’ average ranking is 18.5. They moved up 10 spots at The Athletic, for instance.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive coordinator Brian Flores delivered big nights against San Francisco. They will pose a big challenge against Green Bay.

At Sports Illustrated, Minnesota is No. 22 – one spot ahead of Green Bay.

“Flores,” SI.com’s Orr wrote, “mixed coverages so well and was one of the first coordinators to have Brock Purdy looking constantly uncomfortable. Cousins avoided pressure well and, according to ESPN, became the second quarterback over the last two seasons to have 300-plus passing yards and two or more passing touchdowns” against the 49ers.

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One of my favorite songs is "Dead Skunk," which is about the smell of a dead skunk in the middle of the road.

Here is our Loudon Wainwright-inspired #Packers report card.https://t.co/SZdgCFwxjN

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 24, 2023

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