NFL Week 16 Power Rankings: Two plays may have just changed the Packers’ season and the NFC playoff race

It’s amazing that in a season full of defining moments, just two plays from one game might change a team’s outlook. Yet that’s exactly what happened to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Two plays.

Season flipped.

The Packers led the Denver Broncos 23-14 in the third quarter when Jordan Love took a deep shot to wide receiver Christian Watson. The pass was intercepted by Patrick Surtain II, instantly changing the feel of the game. Watson also suffered an injury on the play and didn’t return.

Two series later, with Green Bay clinging to a 23-21 lead, the Packers lost pass rusher Micah Parsons for the season with a torn ACL. The team was visibly deflated after that, and Denver went on to win the game.

In the span of less than an hour, the Packers went from looking like a potential top seed in the NFC to a team hanging on for dear life in the playoff race. Green Bay now sits seventh heading into a crucial road matchup against the Chicago Bears, who lead the NFC North.

Watson is the speed that makes the offense go. Parsons is the player who makes the defense go. Without them, what now?

And it wasn’t just those two losses. The Packers are also without tight end Tucker Kraft, who was having a career year, along with a slew of other key contributors. Against Denver, they lost right tackle Zach Tom — their best offensive lineman — and safety Evan Williams, arguably their best player on the back end this season.

How do they overcome all of that? I’m not sure they can.

The Packers drop to No. 10 in my power rankings this week after the loss to the Broncos. I picked Green Bay to reach the Super Bowl before the Parsons injury, but these injuries will be tough to overcome.

Is it impossible? Not if Jordan Love plays out of his mind and players like Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness emerge as dominant edge rushers. But it certainly won’t be easy.

The NFL being a survival test was on full display Sunday in Denver. The Packers’ season changed in a big way in less than an hour.

It was just two plays — but those two plays could be so meaningful down the stretch in the NFC.

Biggest Movers

4

Vikings

5

Packers

Rk	Teams		Chg	Rcrd
1	Broncos	They take over the top spot after beating the Packers. Bo Nix was at his best in that game, which serves notice that they are the team to beat in the AFC right now.	1	12-2-0
2	Rams	They lit up the scoreboard against the Lions, but the defense gave up a lot of big plays. They have to tighten that up heading to Seattle this week.	1	11-3-0
3	Seahawks	They beat the Colts without scoring a touchdown, which is not a great look. They won’t beat the Rams this week playing that way.	1	11-3-0
4	Patriots	Blowing a 21-0 lead to the Bills will sting. This week won’t be easy either as they head to Baltimore to play the Ravens.	3	11-3-0
5	Jaguars	They have won five straight games as Trevor Lawrence is playing the best football of his career. They face a big one this week at Denver.	1	10-4-0
6	Bears	They have the top spot in the NFC North as they ready for the rematch with the Packers. The division is theirs to win right now.	1	10-4-0
7	49ers	This team has 10 victories, which is amazing considering all the injuries. They will be a playoff team.	1	10-4-0
8	Texans	They’ve won six straight games and appear to be the team that nobody wants to play in the postseason. The offense has come alive.	1	9-5-0
9	Bills	They showed their character in the victory over the Patriots, rallying from 21-0 down. They will be a tough out come playoff time because of Josh Allen.	1	10-4-0
10	Packers	The injuries just might be what takes out this team. Losing Micah Parsons to a torn ACL is a brutal hit.	5	9-4-1
11	Chargers	Two victories in six days sure change the outlook on this team, beating the Eagles and Chiefs in successive weeks. The defense has really come on.	—	10-4-0
12	Eagles	Nothing like the Raiders to fix an ailing team. The Eagles looked dominant in their victory, but it is the Raiders.	—	9-5-0
13	Buccaneers	They haven’t been right in a while, but they still lead the NFC South as they ready to play the Panthers. The defense has been bad.	—	7-7-0
14	Panthers	Losing to the Saints is not a good look heading into the key game this week with Tampa Bay. But they control their own destiny.	—	7-7-0
15	Steelers	They beat up on the Dolphins Monday night to stay in first place in the division. They face a tough road test at Detroit this week on a short week.	—	8-6-0
16	Colts	Philip Rivers wasn’t awful, but he also didn’t throw the ball down the field. They can’t win games that way.	—	8-6-0
17	Ravens	That team we saw shut out the Bengals is the one we expected to see this season. They need to build on that with a big game this week against the Patriots.	3	7-7-0
18	Lions	At 8-6, they can’t afford more than one more loss. The defense is really an issue right now, which might be their undoing.	1	8-6-0
19	Vikings	J.J. McCarthy did some really good things against the Cowboys, which is a good sign. But he has to stack those games.	4	6-8-0
20	Cowboys	So much for the idea they would push for a playoff spot. The last two weeks have taught us they have a long way to go.	2	6-7-1
21	Chiefs	It’s over. The playoffs are out, Patrick Mahomes is lost with a torn ACL, and the future is now in question. Is the dynasty over?	2	6-8-0
22	Dolphins	So much for those playoff hopes. They were crushed by the Steelers Monday night. Now comes the tough question Does Mike McDaniel stay as coach?	1	6-8-0
23	Bengals	They looked lost against the Ravens. Has Joe Burrow tired of this organization? What changes are coming?	1	4-10-0
24	Falcons	They showed some life in beating the Bucs, but it might not be enough to save the job of coach Raheem Morris. Kirk Cousins played well.	2	5-9-0
25	Saints	Tyler Shough has done some impressive things the past two weeks. They have to be encouraged.	2	4-10-0
26	Commanders	Winning on the road against the Giants might not seem like much, but at least it shows they are still playing hard.	1	4-10-0
27	Cardinals	The idea that this team was on its way to something this year now seems like a thing of the past. Will changes be coming at the top?	3	3-11-0
28	Jets	Things keep getting worse by the week for this group. The defense is bad, the quarterback situation is gross, and they don’t even compete anymore.	—	3-11-0
29	Giants	They keep winning by losing. The No. 1 pick would be theirs right now, which is a good thing.	—	2-12-0
30	Titans	The offense showed some life in the loss to the 49ers, which is progress. It’s all about the process with this young team.	—	2-12-0
31	Browns	The good news: Myles Garrett should break the sack record. The bad news: This team stinks.	—	3-11-0
32	Raiders	They are the worst team in the league right now — and it’s not close. They don’t even compete.	—	2-12-0