NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Biggest risers and fallers after wild Week 15

6. Green Bay Packers

If I’m a team playing in the NFC, I am hoping beyond all hope that I don’t have to face off against the Green Bay Packers at any point in the postseason. You want this Packers team to somehow get bounced immediately in the Wild Card round and not have to think about them for the duration of the postseason.

But unfortunately for those teams, I think they’re going to have to be thinking about the Packers deep into the postseason. This team is just so legit on so many levels.

They force turnovers at a high rate defensively. They’ve got a QB who can make and is not afraid do make any throw. They have so many playmakers offensively, including a guy in Josh Jacobs who can take over a game on his own.

Most important, they have a head coach in Matt LaFleur who is pulling all of the right strings. The Packers are going to be a problem in January.

5. Minnesota Vikings

Vikings play Monday vs. Bears

The pressure is on in a big way for the Minnesota Vikings.

After everything that went down on Sunday, they’ve got a chance to keep pace with both the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions as the potential #1 overall seed in the NFC.

And if that happens, let’s just give the Coach of the Year award to Kevin O’Connell. The Vikings were thought to have overachieved in O’Connell’s first year on the job, but as it turns out, the guy just might be one of the best coaches in the NFL.

After dealing with so many injuries last year, the Vikings are back in the thick of things again this season and are competing for the #1 seed despite playing in the toughest division in football this year. They are a dynamic team offensively and Sam Darnold has done anything but hold them back in the first year of the post-Kirk Cousins era. A win against the Bears on Monday would be massive.