After a dismal start to the season, the Green Bay Packers have strung together a few impressive wins and are back in the division race with a 4-3 record.

The Packers are only two games out of the first-place spot currently held by the Chicago Bears. Things are certainly looking a lot better for the Packers now than two weeks ago.

The Packers started the season with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers 30-22. Green Bay bounced back the next week with a Monday night victory against the Chicago Bears, 23-10.

Next came the game against the Seattle Seahawks, a game Packer fans will not soon forget. The Packers lost the game on a blown touchdown call as time expired. The play subsequently led to an agreement between the NFL and the striking referees. 

The Packers then beat the New Orleans Saints, 28-27. The Pack looked like they might have been getting in a groove, but then the Indianapolis Colts stunned the Packers with a 30-27 upset.

The loss may have awakened a sleeping giant, as the Packers came ready to play against their toughest opponent of the season, the Houston Texans. The Packers stomped the Texans, 42-24.

This past weekend, the Packers traveled to St. Louis to take on the Rams. It wasn’t the prettiest, but Green Bay came out on top with a final of 30-20.

Now, the Packers stand at a modest 4-3 record. It isn’t what many fans expected, but it could be a lot worse.

To put it in perspective, the Super Bowl-winning 2010 Packers started the season 4-3, but finished strong down the stretch, played their best ball at the end of the season and made history from there.

This is exactly what the 2012 Packers are set up to do. With the tough, start some people wrote them off early and focused on the teams with better records like Atlanta, Houston and Chicago, which could come back to bite them.

Green Bay has gotten through the hardest part of their schedule and now has a legitimate shot at winning the rest of their games.

They play the Detroit Lions twice, who proved to the world Monday night against the Bears that they are a very beatable team. They also play the Minnesota Vikings twice, a team that will not play as well as they have been.

The games to look out for will be the playoff rematch in week 12, against the New York Giants. The Giants can beat anyone at home.

The other threat to the rest of the Packers schedule is the week 15 matchup at Soldier Field against the Bears. If Green Bay can win both of those games, they will be in good shape for the playoffs.

On the offensive side, there are no surprises as to who is moving the ball for Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers is having another MVP-caliber season, leading the league with 19 touchdowns and a 109.6 passer rating.

On defense, Clay Mathews has gotten off to a fast start racking up nine sacks. Charles Woodson had been playing well but has been diagnosed with a broken collarbone. Someone will have to step up the next four-to-six weeks that Woodson’s out.

The Packers next matchup will be against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville will be without star running back Maurice Jones- Drew, who is expected to miss extended time with a foot injury. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert also found out this week that he has a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. However, he reportedly will play. The kickoff is Sunday, on CBS at 12 p.m.