Packers Hold Steady in On SI NFL Power Rankings

GREEN BAY; Wis. – The Green Bay Packers remain No. 3 in the On SI NFL Power Rankings entering Week 3.

The On SI power rankings are voted on by team publishers. Green Bay, coming off impressive wins against the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, received five first-place votes. That’s five more than last week.

Whether the Packers are the best team in the league is anyone’s guess after only two games. What’s inarguable is they’re off to the most impressive start by beating the Lions, who went 15-2 last season, and the Commanders, who reached the NFC title game.

Coach Matt LaFleur knows there’s work to do. One major focus is penalties. After playing a relatively clean game against Detroit, Green Bay was guilty of 10 infractions for 77 yards against the Commanders. Offensive holding took a touchdown off the scoreboard and two penalties on special teams impacted field position.

“I would say we went into the game, we knew that the penalties were going to be a big part of the game, and we had far too many,” LaFleur said after Monday’s practice. “Obviously, the first drive, it negated a touchdown. And then we had a couple pre-snap penalties; you don’t want any of those. We had a couple of penalties on special teams that really played a big impact on field position.”

Despite the caliber of opponents they’ve faced, the Packers will enter Week 3 ranked sixth in yardage differential and second in scoring differential.

That Green Bay let Washington hang around into the fourth quarter bothered LaFleur.

“Really in every phase, there’s a lot to like, but there’s a lot to work on,” he said. “I thought offensively just the level of detail needs to be better in regards to making sure that you are maximizing every opportunity that you get. It can be one guy on every play could mess up the whole drive.

“Defensively, I thought for three quarters we played really solid football, but when we have the opps, you want to close out the game the right way. And then on special teams, I think we could all agree there’s a lot more to improve upon really in every phase of we-fense. I thought for the score to be 17-10 in the fourth quarter, it was a one-possession game, and I felt for the most part we were in control of that game.”

On the bright side, the Packers extended the lead to 27-10; the final was 27-18 because of an inconsequential touchdown in the final moments.

The Packers will hit the road for the first time this season when they visit the Browns on Sunday. Cleveland is 0-2, losing 17-16 to Cincinnati in Week 1 and collapsing in the second half in a 41-17 loss to Baltimore in Week 2.

The Browns are No. 31 in the On SI rankings. That’s because of a woeful offense. Because the defense is so good, Cleveland is No. 3 in yardage differential. Because the offense is so bad, it is 30th in scoring differential.

The Browns are No. 1 in total defense, No. 1 in rushing defense and No. 3 in passing defense. Led by indomitable Myles Garrett, they’ve allowed the fewest first downs. The Browns stopped star running back Derrick Henry in his tracks.

“It’s a team game,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday. “It’s the best team game there is. And we understand that it’s never about one person. It’s never about one side of the ball. We’ll continue to play this that way.”