The Green Bay Packers blew out their rivals, the Chicago Bears, earning a lopsided 31-7 victory in Week 5. With the win, they improved to 3-2, and are right back into the thick of the NFC North race after a lackluster start to the 2026 campaign.
National pundits had been largely bearish on the Packers through the first four games, and rightfully so. However, after producing their best performance of the young season, opinions have changed dramatically.
Where the Packers Stand in NFL Power Rankings
ESPN: 14 (Up From 23)
NFL.com: 16 (Up from 27)
CBS Sports: 14 (Up from 24)
USA Today: 19 (Up from 26)
SI.com: 12 (Up from 22)
FOX Sports: 22 (Up from 25)
What National Pundits Are Saying About the Packers
“In back-to-back weeks, the Packers lost linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to season-ending Achilles injuries. Cooper was their best linebacker; Hargrave their most experienced defensive lineman. And who knows when edge rusher Micah Parsons will play? He hasn’t practiced since last year’s torn ACL in Week 15. While they’ve struggled to get off the field on third down and they’ve been gashed on the ground a couple of times, the biggest issues are injuries and the corresponding absences of key players such as Cooper and Parsons.” – Rob Demovsky, ESPN
“Now this is the Packers offense I expected to see in 2026. Perhaps it took the rivalry with Chicago to bring out the best in Green Bay, or maybe Jordan Love just needed to be asked to let it fly for an entire afternoon in order to extract the Pack from the mud. Either way, it worked wonderfully. Love delivered a fantastic performance, throwing for 367 yards and two majestic touchdowns to Christian Watson, demolishing a Bears team that couldn’t stop giving the ball to Green Bay’s suddenly feisty defense. Adding Micah Parsons into this equation soon makes the Packers one of the teams we must pay close attention to going forward.” – Nick Shook, NFL.com
“They were able to unleash Jordan Love against the Bears. It needs to stay that way going forward. The deep passing game is their best option.” – Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
“Blasting the (temporarily) crippled Bears marked the Pack’s best showing of the season. Now, back to reality. OLB Micah Parsons won’t be back for Sunday night’s battle with the Cowboys, and NT Javon Hargrave joins LB Edgerrin Cooper as the second defensive starter to tear an Achilles in the past two weeks.” – Nate Davis, USA Today
“I get that I cannot, one week, punish the Steelers for what I considered a fluke victory over the Bengals (at the time) because Aaron Rodgers had too much time in the pocket, then vastly pump up the Packers for a deep aerial assault of the Bears, without drawing some ire. The difference here is that Matt LaFleur has figured out how to run play action without a running game. And it’s leading to massive chunk plays.” – Connor Orr, SI.com
“The Packers still can’t really run the ball, and that’s going to hold them back. But Love and an improving defense have been enough to get them to 3-2. It doesn’t look pretty, but they have a chance to stay on their offensive roll with the Cowboys, Lions and Panthers up next.” – Ralph Vacchiano, Fox Sports
What The Week 6 Power Rankings Say About the Packers
Make no mistake, the Packers had plenty of advantages in Week 5 against the Bears, who were without starting quarterback Caleb Williams and leading rusher Kyle Monangai. However, it’s hard to gloss over how well the Packers played considering how they’ve looked before Sunday’s blowout win.
Just a week ago, they barely escaped with a three-point victory over a then-winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers team led by an undrafted rookie quarterback. At the time, they were lucky to have a notch in the win column at all, let alone be 2-2 through four games.
But things look like they’re coming together following Sunday’s blowout victory.
After several tweaks along the offensive line, Jordan Love and company looked like a functioning unit, albeit without much of a running game still. Meanwhile, the Packers defense was able to not only overcome the loss of standout linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, but thrive against a shorthanded Bears offense.
It might not sound that impressive on the surface, but before Sunday’s win, Green Bay seemed unable to fully exploit opponents with similar weaknesses through the first four games of the season. They face a stiff challenge in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, but they enter feeling and looking better than ever, which is a huge positive for a team that looked disjointed and lost only a few days back.
