1. New England Patriots (Record: 6-0; Previous Rank: 1)

The remaining undefeat-ed teams in the NFL haven’t picked up many of their vic-tories over teams with win-ning records. However, the Patriots collected one in Week 7 by beating the Jets.

2. Green Bay Packers (Record: 6-0; Previous Rank: 2)

A bye came at the perfect time for Green Bay, which had a dozen players on its injury report. Now, the Pack-ers face a major challenge by going to Denver and facing a great Broncos defense.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (Record: 6-0; Previous Rank: 3)

The Bengals had a Week 7 bye, but now they have to deal with the likely return of Ben Roethlisberger on Sun-day.

4. Denver Broncos (Re-cord: 6-0; Previous Rank: 4)

Peyton Manning had two touchdown passes and seven interceptions between Weeks 4-6. He’ll now face a Packers defense that is ranked second in sacks and sixth in interceptions.

5. Carolina Panthers (Record: 6-0; Previous Rank: 5)

The Panthers keep win-ning. This week, it was beat-ing the Eagles at home.

6. Arizona Cardinals (Record: 5-2; Previous Rank: 6)

Arizona has cooled off a bit after a hot start, but the Cardinals found a way to get past the Ravens on Monday night.

7. Atlanta Falcons (Re-cord: 6-1; Previous Rank: 7)

It wasn’t all that impres-sive, but Atlanta went into Tennessee in Week 7 and left with a 10-7 win.

8. New York Jets (Re-cord: 4-2; Previous Rank: 8)

The Jets gave the Patri-ots a great fight on the road. A moral victory in some ways, it further legitimized New York as a contender in the AFC.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers (Record: 4-3; Previous Rank: 9)

Pittsburgh was down to its No. 3 quarterback in a loss at Kansas City. However, the Steelers should be getting Roethlisberger back now, and they did fairly well in his absence by winning two of the four games he missed.

10. Seattle Seahawks (Record: 3-4; Previous Rank: 10)

When the Seahawks de-fense is on, it’s really on. In Seattle’s three wins this season, it has not given up a single offensive touchdown.

11. Minnesota Vikings (Record: 4-2; Previous Rank: 11)

The Vikings went on the road to Detroit and took care of business against a divisional opponent that they should beat.

12. New York Giants (Record: 4-3; Previous Rank: 14)

The Giants won their fourth game over the past five weeks by beating the Cowboys. Now, Jason Pierre-Paul should be returning to boost New York’s defense.

13. Miami Dolphins (Re-cord: 3-3; Previous Rank: 18)

What a difference a coaching change has made in Miami. Incredible. The Dolphins led Houston 41-0 at halftime in Week 7.

14. St. Louis Rams (Re-cord: 3-3; Previous Rank: 16)

The Rams came back from a bye with their defense looking strong in an 18-point win over Cleveland.

15. Oakland Raiders (Record: 3-3; Previous Rank: 21)

The Raiders came out of their bye week on a mission, it seemed, absolutely thrash-ing the Chargers.

16. New Orleans Saints (Record: 3-4; Previous Rank: 24)

The Saints responded to a 1-4 record by giving the Falcons their first loss of the season, and then following it up by going to Indianapolis and winning.

17. Buffalo Bills (Record: 3-4; Previous Rank: 12)

For all the talent in Buffa-lo, the Bills haven’t figured it out yet. Losing in London to the Jaguars was not a good look.

18. Philadelphia Eagles (Record: 3-4; Previous Rank: 13)

The Eagles went to Caro-lina in Week 7 and lost by 11.

19. Indianapolis Colts (Record: 3-3; Previous Rank: 15)

Andrew Luck wasn’t out-dueled by Drew Brees, but the Colts were certainly han-dled by New Orleans. In In-dianapolis, the Colts trailed the Saints at halftime by a score of 20-0.

20. Dallas Cowboys (Re-cord: 2-4; Previous Rank: 17)

Another week without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, another Cowboys loss.

21. Washington Red-skins (Record: 3-4; Previous Rank: 19)

Washington had a big comeback to beat the Bucca-neers by one at home.

22. San Diego Chargers (Record: 2-4; Previous Rank: 18)

The Chargers didn’t ex-actly do a good job in follow-ing up Philip Rivers’ career day in Green Bay. After three quarters against the Raiders in Week 7, San Diego trailed, 37-6.

23. Cleveland Browns (Record: 2-5; Previous Rank: 22)

The Browns couldn’t

hang with the Rams in Week 7, losing big.

24. San Francisco 49ers (Record: 2-5; Previous Rank: 23)

The 49ers scored only three points at home in a Week 7 loss to division-rival Seattle.

25. Tennessee Titans (Record: 1-5; Previous Rank: 25)

The Titans struggled mightily on offense without Marcus Mariota in Week 7, scoring only seven points at home against Atlanta.

26. Baltimore Ravens (Record: 1-6; Previous Rank: 26)

Another close game, an-other Ravens loss.

27. Kansas City Chiefs (Record: 2-5; Previous Rank: 29)

The Chiefs benefited from facing the Steelers’ No. 3 quarterback, but Kansas City still got a much-needed win.

28. Chicago Bears (Re-cord: 2-4; Previous Rank: 28)

The Bears had a Week 7 bye and host the Vikings on Sunday.

29. Detroit Lions (Re-cord: 1-6; Previous Rank: 27)

Another disastrous outing for the Lions led to the firing of several coaches, including their offensive coordinator.

30. Jacksonville Jaguars (Record: 2-5; Previous Rank: 32)

The Jaguars picked up their second win of the sea-son by beating the Bills in London.

31. Tampa Bay Bucca-neers (Record: 2-4; Previous Rank: 31)

Tampa Bay blew a 24-7 lead at Washington and end-ed up losing by one.

32. Houston Texans (Re-cord: 2-5; Previous Rank: 30)

The Texans were losing to Miami, 41-0, at halftime. Houston most definitely has a problem.

NFL Power RankingsBy Paul ImigFor Green & Gold Express

WOLF RIVER MEDIA 3FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015GREEN & GOLD EXPRESS

PACKERSFROM PAGE 2

countless records he holds, I think it just goes to show the type of athlete that he is. It’s hard to come in year in and year out and live up to that standard. He’s managed to do that and he continues to do that. I think that’s what’s most admi-rable about him.”

Manning wasn’t in a mood to reflect on Wednes-day, whether it was about career accomplishments or recent substandard play.

“I was reading a little devotional today, talking about not talking about yourself, talking about oth-ers. I’m abiding by that de-votional today,” he said.

For Rodgers, what stands out is Manning’s lengthy body of work and sustained level of excel-lence. It’s the same re-sume Rodgers is authoring in Green Bay.

“Longevity is usually only achieved through con-sistency,” Rodgers said, “because it’s a ‘What have you done for me now?’ league. You know, job se-curity is tight, with general managers, with coaches and with players. It’s al-ways been tight. You’ve got to continue to play at a high level. If you’re not at the top of your game, you’ve got to be consistent every year. If you’re an ascending play-er, you’ve got to stay on the rise. If you’re near the end, you’ve got to avoid being a descending player. But Manning, he’s done it for such a long time at a high level. He’s been the stan-dard for quarterbacks, and he’s going to have pretty soon just about all the re-cords in our league, and that’s pretty impressive.”

Time, however, stops for no one. Not even for Man-ning. After enduring possi-

bly the worst stretch of his career with two touchdowns and seven interceptions in the three games before the bye, Manning knows the challenge that awaits. The Packers lead the NFL in points allowed per game

“We have our hands full on both sides of the ball this week and, obviously, getting ready for their de-fense — (Julius) Peppers and Matthews and all their different defensive line-men and active lineback-ers and active secondary. It’s hard to think about much else besides that,” Manning said.

It won’t be any easier for Rodgers. Denver has the best edge-rushing tan-dem with DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller and the best cornerbacks with Aqib Talib and Chris Harris. You name the statistical category, and the Broncos are listed at or near the top of the leaderboard.

“There’s no weak spot,” Rodgers said.

Neither quarterback is putting up the numbers he’s accustomed to, but for Rodgers and Manning, nothing matters more than the standings. With 6-0 re-cords, both have a golden opportunity to win a sec-ond Super Bowl ring.

“It’s supposed to mat-ter to you. It’s supposed to mean something to you,” Manning said. “When you win, you’re supposed to be excited. When you lose, it’s supposed to bother you. We had a quote up in the team meeting room today saying when you truly in-vest in something, you care about your investment, you’re concerned about your investment. When you put a lot of work into the team, yeah, you want to win. As the great Ebby Cal-vin ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh said in ‘Bull Durham,’ ’I sure like winning. It’s, like, better than losing.’”