Packers move down in power rankings after loss to 49ers

The Green Bay Packers fall to sixth in the NFL Spin Zone power rankings following their loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

It was the Green Bay Packers‘ biggest test of the season, and they failed. In what was supposed to be a heavyweight showdown between two of the best teams in the NFC, only one team showed up, while the Packers proved why there’s still a lot of work to do.

And following Green Bay’s 37-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the team has dropped in the NFL Spin Zone power rankings by Dan Parzych for Week 13. Parzych was perhaps a little generous by only moving the Packers down two positions from fourth to sixth. They remain one position ahead of the Minnesota Vikings, but the two teams are now tied atop the NFC North, potentially setting up a winner-takes-all matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium next month.

Here is what Parzych wrote about the Packers in the article:

"“Rough doesn’t even begin to describe how Sunday night was for the Green Bay Packers, but at least this was only one game, and no reason for concern during the final stretch of games.”"

That’s a positive way to look at it, and the schedule certainly becomes a little easier in the final five weeks of the season. Outside of a date with the Vikings just before Christmas, the Packers take on the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in the next five weeks, two at home and two on the road. Those four teams have a combined win-loss record of 12-31-1.

If Green Bay finishes the season 4-1, its final record would be 12-4, likely good enough to regain the NFC North title, regardless of the result at Minnesota in Week 16.

Another positive is that the Packers will have learned a lot about the 49ers in this game. That doesn’t mean the same outcome wouldn’t happen if they met in the playoffs, but Matt LaFleur and his staff would at least know how the 49ers plan to attack them and what didn’t work the first time.

But for the Packers to make a serious playoff run, they have a lot to fix from this past week.