NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Reaction and Standings After Thursday Night Football

Thursday night tossed some dead weight off NFL's Week 16 schedule. Although the Oakland Raiders gained some pride with a 23-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers, both AFC West clubs will exit 2015 eliminated from postseason contention.

While Oakland's usually stout passing offense stumbled to the point where they tried to set up a game-ending touchdown pass from Charles Woodson, San Diego lived through the air as its rushing issues were once again highlighted. After watching an ugly showdown littered with penalties, it's easy to see why both sides are one game away from going home.

Earning its seventh victory, Oakland slithers slightly up the Week 16 power rankings. Suffering its 11th defeat, San Diego didn't have much room to drop anyway.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Carolina Panthers	14-0
2	Arizona Cardinals	12-2
3	New England Patriots	12-2
4	Cincinnati Bengals	11-3
5	Seattle Seahawks	9-5
6	Kansas City Chiefs	9-5
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	9-5
8	Green Bay Packers	10-4
9	Denver Broncos	10-4
10	New York Jets	9-5
11	Minnesota Vikings	9-5
12	Washington Redskins	7-7
13	New York Giants	6-8
14	Buffalo Bills	6-8
15	Oakland Raiders	7-8
16	Houston Texans	7-7
17	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6-8
18	Atlanta Falcons	7-7
19	St. Louis Rams	6-8
20	Philadelphia Eagles	6-8
21	Jacksonville Jaguars	5-9
22	Detroit Lions	5-9
23	Chicago Bears	5-9
24	Indianapolis Colts	6-8
25	Baltimore Ravens	4-10
26	San Diego Chargers	4-11
27	Dallas Cowboys	4-10
28	New Orleans Saints	5-9
29	Miami Dolphins	5-9
30	Tennessee Titans	3-11
31	San Francisco 49ers	4-10
32	Cleveland Browns	3-11

AFC Wild-Card Contenders

If life was fair, every TV channel would stop re-airing the same seven Christmas movies on an endless loop. But it's not, so people must deal with A Christmas Story popping up every hour. Even worse, we live in a universe where the 7-7 Houston Texans lead the AFC south.

While Houston attempts to sneak into the postseason behind whichever quarterback shows up on Sunday with healthy limbs, the 9-5 Pittsburgh Steelers remain outside the postseason bracket. If they survive the season's final cuts, the Kansas City Chiefs or New York Jets will watch from home with a winning record.

All three wild-card hopefuls enter Week 16 on a tear, but the schedule bodes badly for the Jets. Let's examine each team's chances of capturing the AFC's No. 5 or 6 seed.

Kansas City Chiefs

Nick Wass/Associated Press

An eight-game winning streak has saved a once-doomed 1-5 season, and two straight Denver Broncos losses suddenly bring them within a game of the AFC West.

Although mired in a three-way tie, the Chiefs sport the sixth-best point differential (plus-108) and rank No. 5 in Football Outsiders' Defensive-adjusted Value Above Average (DVOA). Their success led FiveThirtyEight's projection model to peg their playoff chances at 97 percent, higher than Denver's 93 percent.

While Denver faces the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, the Chiefs close their season against the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders. According to Odds Shark, they're 12-point favorites over the Browns at home this weekend.

Kansas City is winning in style, amassing a 17.9-point margin of victory during its winning streak. An offense quietly ranked No. 6 in DVOA has also scored at least 30 points in four of the last five games.

Luckily the Chiefs have a favorable closing schedule. According to ESPN.com's Adam Teicher, Tamba Hali could join Justin Houston on the sideline after breaking his thumb last weekend. Missing both Pro Bowl linebackers would derail a potent pass rush, but the offense and secondary should pick up the slack against the 3-11 Browns.

New York Jets

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

The Jets are the most overlooked of this trio. Their four-game winning streak pales in comparison to the Chiefs' recent dominance, and their improved No. 10 passing offense still can't touch Pittsburgh's aerial assault.

A look at their schedule won't silence the skeptics. Playing against the AFC South and NFC East, they haven't defeated a winning team this season. Heck, the New England Patriots are the only winning team they'll encounter all year.

When they last met, New England rallied from a 20-16 deficit to win with two fourth-quarter passing touchdowns from Tom Brady. The star quarterback registered 355 passing yards and two scores against a unit currently ranked No. 6 in defensive DVOA. As noted by ESPN's Trey Wingo, the Patriots went right after the Jets passing defense:

In order for Gang Green to advance to the next stage, they must pass the ultimate boss round against the AFC East rulers. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had never started for a winning team before this season, discussed Sunday's importance with ESPN.com's Rich Cimini.

"I don't know if I want to place a significance on it, where (it ranks) in my career, but this is huge for me," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm excited. This is why everybody in here plays the game, to play in a football games like this in December and have a shot at playing longer."

Even in victory, they have looked sloppy in recent weeks during three-point triumphs against the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. Week 17's road bout against the Buffalo Bills—who beat them earlier in the season—is also no picnic, so the Jets face the hardest path to the postseason after enjoying a paved road for most of the year.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Think the NFL would reconsider the current playoff format if one of football's most exciting teams sits at home watching the Texans?

From an entertainment perspective, Pittsburgh's No. 2-ranked offense, residing behind the Arizona Cardinals, is the most aesthetically pleasing. Averaging 35 points over the last six games, only losing a road bout against the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers would also present the biggest threat to usurp New England.

They're not just beating up on horrible defenses. They posted 30 points at Seattle and 33 at Cincinnati before handling their top challenge. Facing Denver's NFL-best defense, Pittsburgh amassed 34 points, the highest tally Denver surrendered all season.

Ben Roethlisberger has averaged 336.9 passing yards per game, and Antonio Brown has registered 1,351 receiving yards over those 10 contests.

Although Roethlisberger's four-game absence cost Brown a chance at breaking Calvin Johnson's single-season yardage record, he'll settle for joining Johnson and three other star wideouts on a prestigious list provided by ESPN Stats & Info:

Pittsburgh must end the season on the road, but it receives vulnerable AFC North prey in the Baltimore Ravens and Browns. Its No. 24 defense won't get tested by two crumbling squads derailed by injuries. By the end of those tilts, the Steelers' rank in total yards allowed will more closely resemble their No. 12 defensive DVOA. 

Advanced stats courtesy of Football Outsiders unless otherwise noted.