Week 16: Packers use their mulligan; Saints, Pats gain ground

Last week in this space, we speculated the Green Bay Packers had such a huge lead in the NFL.com Power Poll, they probably could afford to lose a game and still hold onto the top spot. Little did we know how soon they would prove our point.

How they voted ...

Mike McCarthy's Green Bay Packers are still No. 1 in the NFL.com Power Poll, but it's no longer unanimous. Find out where our experts rank your favorite team **here ...**

» **Fan Rankings:** Prove the experts wrong

It turns out Green Bay's cushion wasn't quite as comfy as we thought, however.

Last Sunday's upset at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs cost the Packers their unanimous No. 1 status, as a lone contrarian among our panel of nine experts voted the Saints and not the Packers No. 1 this week. In fact, this expert (we won't identify him, but he used to play quarterback for the Redskins and his name rhymes with Heisman) was so soured on Aaron Rodgers & Co. that he saw fit to drop them all the way to the No. 6 spot. (It's a real what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world in which we live.)

As for the rest of the poll, the Saints are lurking at No. 2, while impressive wins by the Patriots and 49ers vaulted those two teams above the Ravens and Steelers, who both lost rather unimpressively.

Other notable developments from Week 15:

Theismann: Packers are No. 6

The Packers landed eight of nine first-place votes in the NFL.com Power Poll. The holdout? Joe Theismann, who explains why he had Green Bay sixth. **More ...**

» The Atlanta Falcons registered their highest showing yet, supplanting the Houston Texans at No. 7.

» The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals -- two teams that have languished in the bottom third of the poll for most of the season -- continued their strong second-half push, checking in at No. 16 and No. 18, respectively.

» Both New York teams suffered disappointing losses Sunday, but the experts have the Giants ranked ahead of the Jets in advance of their Big Apple showdown in Week 16. Despite having a better record, the Jets (8-6) dropped four spots after losing to the Eagles, while the Giants (7-7) fell just two places after losing to the Redskins.

» The bloom might not be all the way off the Tebow rose, but the Denver Broncos did drop out of the top 10 (to No. 11) after their 41-23 loss to the New England Patriots.