Packers’ victory over Cowboys sends FanPulse confidence soaring

After a 3-1 start and a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers fans weren’t quite ready to buy in to this team. Even though the Packers sat atop the NFC North — in a tie on record with the Chicago Bears but holding a head-to-head tiebreaker — things weren’t all roses for the Green and Gold.

A defensive meltdown, particularly against the run, had Packers fans down a bit following the team’s week four loss. But any losses in confidence have been more than gained back after a tremendous road victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

This week, APC’s FanPulse confidence index shows soaring optimism about the Packers. Perhaps it is the defense’s big-play nature that has them coming back, or perhaps it was a fantastic game by running back Aaron Jones that led to his earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. More likely for a combination of reasons, FanPulse confidence in the Packers is at a season-high 87 percent this week, a stunning 33-point jump over last week’s 54 percent mark.

Here’s a look in graph form, as the index ranks ten points higher than the previous high mark in 2019, a 77 percent confidence rating after the team’s 3-0 start.

The Packers are doing it without a true MVP-caliber player this year as well. Aaron Rodgers does not rank among the NFL leaders in really any passing categories. In fact, he ranks just 22nd in passer rating this year among qualified QBs while sitting 12th in passing yards and a very uncharacteristic 20th in touchdown passes.

However, SB Nation still made him an option for fans in a league-wide question about the MVP race. Predictably, Rodgers drew very few votes, coming in with around five or six percent of the votes. Instead, the voters see a big lead right now for Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, followed by a pair of quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes.

Here’s a look at those votes: