According to the Football Outsiders week 16 DVOA ratings, the Green Bay Packers are ranked No. 1 by weighted DVOA, which is "adjusted so that earlier games in the season become gradually less important." What it means is that the Packers are hot:
If you look at how the NFC teams have played in recent weeks, it's pretty simple: Philadelphia, Dallas, and Green Bay are hot. New Orleans and Minnesota are not. Arizona isn't really trending one way or the other. (Their weighted DVOA is higher than overall, but they've had a couple of poor games recently.) However, as Bill Barnwell pointed out in Quick Reads, late-season momentum in the last couple years hasn't meant a tinker's damn.
They are still dragged down by their awful special teams play, which remains the worst in the league by a comfortable margin.
Speaking of Bill Barnwell and Quick Reads, here's what he said about QB Aaron Rodgers (No. 11 QB last week) and RB Brandon Jackson (No. 4 RB) :
With the Seahawks handing the Packers oodles of rushing yards and short fields, Rodgers really only had to hand the ball off and offer the occasional play action pass up to collect his paycheck. Only four of his completions were for fewer than ten yards, and he had completions of 16, 24, 28, 38 (twice) and 40 yards...
After being expected to start at points during the 2007 preseason, Jackson's faded into oblivion with the arrival and ascension of Ryan Grant. With the Packers choosing to rest Grant in a blowout, though, Jackson showed why the Packers liked him. Like many of their receivers, Jackson's agile and shows excellent vision once he has the ball in his hands; he made nice cutbacks on several plays, including his first touchdown run. While the carries given to Ahman Green were a nice thank you for services rendered (or a reminder of how bad the first Green trade from Seattle was for the Seahawks), Jackson will be first in line if Grant goes down during the playoffs.