A 14-point home loss to the Detroit Lions to open Week 4 had the Green Bay Packers tumbling down the latest USA Today NFL power rankings.
The Packers, now 2-2 after the 34-20 defeat to the Lions, fell four spots to No. 19 to open Week 5.
After starting the season at No. 18, the Packers have jumped up and down between No. 12 and No. 19, the expected sweet spot for a young team that has now beat a really bad Chicago Bears (No. 32) team in Week 1, split with the middling Atlanta Falcons (No. 18) and New Orleans Saints (No. 20) and lost big to a good Lions (No. 5) team in primetime.
Here’s the Packers blurb from Nate Davis:
Only two teams are worse running the ball. Only two teams are worse stopping the run. That’s called a losing formula.
In Week 5, the Packers go on the road to face the struggling Las Vegas Raiders, who have lost three straight games and are now No. 28 in the USA Today rankings. This is an opportunity for a “get right” game, but nothing can be considered easy for a Packers team searching for an identity overall and learning on the fly on offense through four games. After facing the Raiders, the Packers can get healthy during the bye week before facing the Denver Broncos, who came back to beat the Bears in Week 4 but still rank No. 29 overall.
Previous rankings
Week 1: No. 18
Week 2: No. 15
Week 3: No. 12
Week 4: No. 15
Week 5: No. 19