Packers fall in power rankings for third week of preseason

The Green Bay Packers made too many mistakes last week in their second preseason game, and have fallen to 17th in the NFL Spin Zone power rankings.

Missed tackles and inconsistent play on offense has been talked about a lot since the Green Bay Packers‘ preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week.

The hope is that the former will be fixed simply by playing more games, while the latter will be fine once Aaron Rodgers is back on the field. Rodgers sat out of the game as he was dealing with back tightness.

But a disappointing performance against the Ravens means they have dropped down to 17th in the latest NFL Spin Zone power rankings by Dan Parzych. They were 11th in the rankings a week ago and have since been overtaken by the Minnesota Vikings.

This week’s game might show us the most about the 2019 Green Bay Packers. Well, as much as it’s possible to learn in a preseason game, anyway. That is if we assume the starters will be on the field for a longer than in the previous two games.

However, that may not include Rodgers. After missing last week’s game, then Sunday’s practice, he should be considered a doubt to play against the Oakland Raiders on Thursday evening. Even if he feels at 100 percent, head coach Matt LaFleur may decide not to risk injury as it’s only a preseason game.

While falling six positions in the power rankings after one preseason loss without Rodgers might seem a little unfair, it is easy to understand why the Packers would be 17th. And it’s perhaps fair to say that being 11th a week ago was slightly generous to the Packers.

On paper, this team has the talent to be competitive. But they’ll need to prove it on the field. This is a team that has gone 13-18-1 over the past two seasons without a playoff game to show for it.

We may learn more about this team against the Raiders this week.