Packers make top four of Week 15 power rankings

The Green Bay Packers got their 10th win last week, and now move into the top four of the NFL Spin Zone power rankings.

The NFC playoff race couldn’t be set up more perfectly. The Green Bay Packers are in business after two disappointing seasons. Win out and they will have a first-round bye with an outside chance of earning the NFC’s top seed.

Who would’ve thought that back in August?

On the flip side, the Packers could still yet miss out on the postseason entirely or end up with a wild-card berth with the Minnesota Vikings hosting a playoff game as NFC North champions.

The Packers caught a break with their schedule, facing matchups against the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. But no game is easy in the NFL and the Packers got the job done to move to 10-3 on the season and the playoffs in sight.

Following last week’s win, the Packers have moved up from fifth to fourth in the NFL Spin Zone power rankings. The New Orleans Saints remain a position ahead of them despite losing to the San Francisco 49ers, but I understand that. The Saints lost in the final seconds to a very good team. The Packers were in a competitive matchup against one of the worst in the NFC.

But if the season finished today, Green Bay would have the No. 2 seed, New Orleans the No. 3 seed. The Saints would host the Vikings in the wild-card round, with a win sending them to Lambeau Field a week later. A Packers-Saints game at Lambeau would be a lot of fun.

Green Bay’s next challenge is against the Chicago Bears. A win would mean Matt LaFleur’s team would need just one more from the final two games in order to wrap up the division title. Meanwhile, it would effectively end Chicago’s playoff hopes, and depending on other results in Week 15, could officially eliminate the defending division champions. Oh, what a shame that would be. Wouldn’t that just be awful?

Fourth in the power rankings feels about right for Green Bay. Win the next two against Chicago and at Minnesota, and things will look a lot different for this team.