There was a lot said about the rejuvenated Aaron Rodgers before he played the Green Bay Packers for the first time in an opposing uniform.<\/p>\n
But most of the postgame talk was about Jordan Love.<\/p>\n
In a master-class effort Oct. 26, Love threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns in Green Bay’s nearly flawless second half. The Packers scored 28 points in a 35-25 victory over Rodgers’ Steelers.<\/p>\n
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And though Love’s performance was convincing, NFL power rankings this week are less convinced about the Packers, despite them being the only team in the NFC with one loss.<\/p>\n
Green Bay is as high as No. 2 and as low as No. 7 in the rankings, heading into its Week 9 game with the Carolina Panthers .<\/p>\n
Here’s a roundup of the Packers\u2019 position in the rankings:<\/p>\n
The Packers are clicking again on both sides of the ball and the Micah Parsons effect is affecting game plans of opposing offensive coordinators, according to Chad Graff and Josh Kendall:<\/p>\n
“Since Week 4, when the Packers played Micah Parsons\u2019 old team, he is second in the league in sacks (five) and pressures (26), according to TruMedia. Oh, and Jordan Love completed 20 straight passes at one point Sunday and threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns. This is the Packers team that looked like a Super Bowl contender early in the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Rodgers got all the hot air last week before the game, but Love that delivered the cold-blooded performance in the second half in Pittsburgh, notes Larry Davenport:<\/p>\n
“We got another glimpse of what the Packers can be on Sunday: Relentless on both sides of the ball. A week dominated by talk of Aaron Rodgers vs. the Packers turned into a game where Jordan Love did something the veteran never did in Green Bay and complete 20 passes in a row. Pittsburgh had no chance on third-and-long, because it was terrified of Green Bay’s pass rush.”<\/p>\n
Is Christian Watson the missing piece in the Packers’ offense? Pete Prisco appears to think so:<\/p>\n
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“Jordan Love lit up the Steelers, and the pass rush dominated on the defensive side. Getting speedy Christian Watson back is big for the offense.”<\/p>\n
Parsons was acquired to make game-changing plays, and as Rob Demovsky points out, he’s delivered:<\/p>\n
“Parsons not only leads the NFL in pressures (33), he has helped free up Rashan Gary (who leads the Packers with 7.5 sacks) and bring an overall energy to the Packers’ defense. Green Bay ranks sixth in the NFL in yards allowed per game (289.4).<\/p>\n
Eric Edholm is impressed with the Packers’ offensive depth, but notes that the Packers aren’t consistent enough yet:<\/p>\n
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“The Packers once again followed a familiar script of going cold for a stretch and needing to come back from a deficit, but Love was up to the challenge with a strong outing in Pittsburgh \u2015 even when the run game had stalled out. He completed 20 straight passes in one stretch, humbling the Steelers with a series of lob shots downfield they couldn’t defend. With an emerging star at tight end (Tucker Kraft) and a full complement of wide receivers, the Packers will be tougher to defend down the stretch. Green Bay’s defense also took over late against Pittsburgh, with Micah Parsons once again owning the fourth quarter. The Packers arguably haven’t put together a complete, four-quarter performance since the opener, but they have the firepower to put teams away late.”<\/p>\n
With Watson back in the mix, Nate Davis wonders if the Packers are about to keep their foot on the gas:<\/p>\n
“Christian Watson returned, with significant effect, Sunday night, and fellow WR Jayden Reed shouldn’t be too far behind for an offense seemingly loaded with 1A weapons \u2015 even if a No. 1 receiver has yet to emerge. An already accelerating team could be poised to hit another gear.”<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Where are Packers in NFL power rankings after win over Steelers?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Packers are as high as 2 and as low as 7 in the latest NFL power rankings after the dominant second half against the Steelers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":114170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[35,478,441,2448,19,2844,20,118,199,1475,121,3641,3246],"class_list":["post-114167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-christian-watson","tag-green-bay","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-jayden-reed","tag-jordan-love","tag-micah-parsons","tag-nfl-power-rankings","tag-pittsburgh","tag-rashan-gary","tag-steelers","tag-tucker-kraft"],"yoast_head":"\n