Packers Power Rankings Roundup: Gathering where all the experts rank Green Bay after Week 11

The Packers' 7-3 record heading into Week 12 of the NFL regular season is nothing to sneeze at. Many fans in Green Bay would have happily accepted that record if offered to them before Week 1 kicked off. The appropriate question to ask now is just where the Packers sit in relation to their peers around the league heading into the back half of the regular season.

It is difficult to rank the Packers too high in any NFL Power Rankings list because they currently only occupy the No. 3 spot inside their own division. Green Bay trails the division-leading Lions by two games for the top spot and is one game behind the Vikings for second place. There is plenty of time for head coach Matt LaFleur's team to make up ground before the postseason but that won't change where NFL experts rank his team at the moment.

There is little debate that the Packers have the potential to make a meaningful playoff run, but experts are divided about how good they are at the moment. Read on to see a healthy cross-section of how prominent writers view Green Bay heading into Week 12.

NFL.com Power Rankings: Packers come in at eighth

The league's official website correctly points out that Green Bay's win at Chicago helped their playoff profile but lacked anything at all resembling style points. In particular, writers criticize the Packers defense for "allowing a wayward offense to find its rhythm" in Week 11.

The No. 8 position would project quarterback Jordan Love and his teammates to make the playoffs and win a game before probably falling in the division round. That represents a solid finish for a team that's failed to hit top-speed during their first 10 games.

No Packers fans should be disappointed if Green Bay falls one game short of an NFC Championship appearance but it also wouldn't be a memorable season for a team with this sort of talent. This ranking represents the minimum the organization should be shooting for this year.

The Athletic Power Rankings: Green Bay inches up to sixth

The writers over at The Athletic are a little more optimistic about the Packers' performance to date when compared to the media team over at NFL.com. They have Green Bay at the No. 6 spot following their last-second triumph over the Bears.

They acknowledge how difficult it has been to evaluate the Packers' ceiling this season. They do give the steady nature of LaFleur more credit than many of their peers. He may not have reached a Conference Title game since 2020 but it's hard to argue with his .667 win percentage during his time with the franchise.

The Athletic also has genuine questions about Love's play this season. They correctly illustrate his risk/reward nature by pointing out that he's tied for the league lead in interceptions while also being one of the most willing deep passers in football. It's easy to envision a scenario where Love gets hot and leads the Packers on a magical playoff run. The problem is that it's just as simple to imagine him throwing three interceptions in a playoff game to end Green Bay's season.

Yahoo Power Rankings: The Packers are lucky No. 7

Yahoo comes in right between the NFL and The Athletic with their evaluation of the Packers season. Green Bay slots in at No. 7 which is interestingly three spots ahead of the Minnesota squad that sits one spot ahead of them in the NFC North.

The site moved Green Bay up in their rankings this week, in part, due to Christian Watson's breakout game against the Bears. He posted a four-catch, 150-yard performance in Chicago to help his team eke out a one-point win. The fact that he only had 233 yards receiving on the season coming into the game only illustrates just how surprising his play was against the Bears.

Watson's big game illustrates just how difficult it is to predict who will lead the Packers in receiving from week-to-week. On one hand, it's a disadvantage that Love does not have a true No. 1 wideout to work with on a weekly basis. The absence of a true go-to wide receiver also makes opposing defenses focus on multiple receivers every time they prepare to take on Green Bay.

Where do the Packers actually deserve to be ranked?

The narrow range from sixth to eighth seems reasonable for a team that's managed to win seven of their ten games without playing their best football. The only troubling factor is that Green Bay is getting the benefit of the doubt when it comes to being ranked above the Vikings.

Minnesota is being undervalued by the media despite their 8-2 record. Remember, they already have a road win at Lambeau on their resume. The Packers may have a higher ceiling than the Vikings but it's hard to argue against the one head-to-head matchup the two divisional foes have this season.

If Green Bay can manage to turn the tables and win at Minnesota during their second matchup of the campaign then it will be easy to slot them higher up on NFL Power Rankings in future weeks. Until that game happens, the Packers should be forced to occupy a lower place in the rankings than the surprising Vikings. It's a close call between the two teams but ties should be broken by who wins on the field of play.