The Green Bay Packers dropped to 9-4-1 after losing to the Denver Broncos.
The Green Bay Packers dropped to 9-4-1 on the season after losing to the Denver Broncos.
The Packers are now in second place in the NFC North. They face the Chicago Bears (10-4) this Saturday in Chicago and they enter the game ninth in the latest NFL.com power rankings.
NFL analyst Eric Edholm dropped the Packers four spots following the Broncos loss.
"It was a season-changing loss in Denver, with Micah Parsons suffering a torn ACL and Christian Watson, Zach Tom, Quay Walker and Evan Williams all getting hurt, as well," Edholm wrote. "The Packers were in control, up 23-14 in the third quarter, but Jordan Love underthrew a deep ball to Watson (the play in which the receiver got hurt), and everything turned in Denver's direction.
"Parsons is obviously the biggest blow; losing his pass-rush juice just takes a lot of the teeth out of this defense. It's still a capable unit without him, but it's fair to ask if Green Bay is capable of making a Super Bowl run now. The loss knocked the Packers out of the NFC North lead, handing it back to the Bears and shifting Green Bay into the final playoff slot for now. It's tough to understate how damaging this game was, even with the Pack having a chance to sweep the Bears this Saturday."
If the Packers beat the Bears on Saturday, they will reclaim first place in the NFC North. More importantly, they will finish the season 2-0 against Chicago.
Green Bay is 10th in the NFL in points per game and eighth in points per game allowed. The defense will not be as lethal moving forward since Parsons is out for the season.
After the Bears game, the Packers face the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings. Matt LaFleur's group probably needs to finish the season undefeated to guarantee a spot in the NFC playoffs.