Though the Green Bay Packers looked impressive during their Week 1 win over the division rival Chicago Bears, few expected the perception of the team to change significantly due to the caliber of opponent. That's precisely what has happened, and the Packers once again find themselves in the No. 2 spot on SB Nation's official NFL power rankings.
Though Green Bay remained static this week, the defending champion New England Patriots have jumped into the top spot, a position vacated by the Seattle Seahawks after their overtime defeat in St. Louis. The rest of the top 5 is composed of the Denver Broncos (No. 3), the Arizona Cardinals (No. 4) and the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 5). As for the rest of the NFC North, the Detroit Lions come in at No. 19. They are followed by the Minnesota Vikings (No. 22) and the Chicago Bears (No. 26).
The Packers rate similarly over at the other networks. ESPN has them at No. 2 (one spot up from a week prior) while CBS Sports ranks them atop the rest of the league. Yahoo! Sports had Green Bay in the lowest position at No. 3.
Here's what SB Nation power ratings curator Danny Kelly had to say about the Packers' Week 1 victory:
The Green Bay Packers got out of Chicago with a hard-earned divisional road win, moving past their heartbreaking loss in the NFC Championship and sticking to the second spot in the rankings. The Bears played them tough but Aaron Rodgers performed in the clutch as it came down to the wire. The Green Bay defense put it away.