NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Updated Records, 2016-17 Super Bowl Odds

The king of power rankings took a dive in Week 14, throwing the Week 15 standings for a loop.

Said king, of course, was the Dallas Cowboys. A loss to the New York Giants leaves the rankings in chaos, helping members of the AFC West and plenty others with wiggle room to elbow for space near the top.

This outcome has oddsmakers in Las Vegas changing things around as well—which means plenty of openings for bettors to step in and make some serious coin while exploiting the upheaval.

Below, let's take a look at power rankings, updated Super Bowl odds and league standings.

Week 15 NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team
1	Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)
2	New England Patriots (3-1)
3	Oakland Raiders (16-1)
4	New York Giants (20-1)
5	Dallas Cowboys (5-1)
6	Atlanta Falcons (16-1)
7	Detroit Lions (20-1)
8	Green Bay Packers (16-1)
9	Tennessee Titans (75-1)
10	Baltimore Ravens (33-1)
11	Pittsburgh Steelers (9-1)
12	Denver Broncos (50-1)
13	Seattle Seahawks (13-2)
14	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (40-1)
15	Washington (50-1)
16	New Orleans Saints (300-1)
17	Houston Texans (50-1)
18	Miami Dolphins (100-1)
19	Carolina Panthers (500-1)
20	San Diego Chargers (500-1)
21	Minnesota Vikings (50-1)
22	Arizona Cardinals (500-1)
23	Buffalo Bills (200-1)
24	Cincinnati Bengals (500-1)
25	Philadelphia Eagles (500-1)
26	Indianapolis Colts (66-1)
27	Los Angeles Rams (1000-1)
28	New York Jets (1000-1)
29	Chicago Bears (500-1)
30	San Francisco 49ers (1000-1)
31	Jacksonville Jaguars (1000-1)
32	Cleveland Browns (3000-1)

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Week 15 NFL Standings

AFC	W	L	T
NFC	W	L	T
New England Patriots	10	2	0
Kansas City Chiefs	10	3	0
Oakland Raiders	10	3	0
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	5	0
Denver Broncos	8	5	0
Miami Dolphins	8	5	0
Baltimore Ravens	7	5	0
Houston Texans	7	6	0
Tennessee Titans	7	6	0
Indianapolis Colts	6	7	0
Buffalo Bills	6	7	0
Cincinnati Bengals	5	7	1
San Diego Chargers	5	8	0
New York Jets	4	9	0
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	11	0
Cleveland Browns	0	13	0
x -Dallas Cowboys	11	2	0
Detroit Lions	9	4	0
New York Giants	9	4	0
Seattle Seahawks	8	4	1
Atlanta Falcons	8	5	0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8	5	0
Washington Redskins	7	5	1
Minnesota Vikings	7	6	0
Green Bay Packers	7	6	0
Arizona Cardinals	5	7	1
New Orleans Saints	5	8	0
Carolina Panthers	5	8	0
Philadelphia Eagles	5	8	0
Los Angeles Rams	4	9	0
Chicago Bears	3	10	0
San Francisco 49ers	1	12	0

Time to Invest:  Green Bay Packers (16-1)

Seasoned bettors already likely took advantage of this at a better payoff.

The Green Bay Packers, in almost predictable fashion, have stormed back into the playoff conversation by rattling off three consecutive victories. The 7-6 mark has Green Bay tied with the Minnesota Vikings from a record standpoint and behind the first-place Detroit Lions (9-4).

A quote by the team's Twitter account put it best:

The Packers flaunted this theme well enough in Week 14, smacking around the visiting Seattle Seahawks, 38-10. The Seahawks have been hilariously bad on the road over the past few weeks, but Green Bay still deserves credit for picking off Russell Wilson five times.

As always, bettors and the rest of the NFL can't afford to count out a team led by Aaron Rodgers. This is especially the case with the team's three remaining games coming against NFC North opponents.

For perspective, Green Bay has a chance to sweep the Chicago Bears, even the series with the Vikings and sweep the Lions. None of those seem unrealistic with the way the team has played over the last three weeks, so these odds seem like a great shot at a payout.

Abandon Ship: Denver Broncos (50-1)

It seems like the Denver Broncos will be the odd team out in the AFC West. 

Denver, 8-5, simply hasn't answered the call when it matters. The team is 2-2 over its last four, but take a microscope to it—a two-point win against New Orleans isn't impressive, and one could argue a 10-point win against Jacksonville isn't, either.

The losses? A divisional disaster against the Kansas City Chiefs and an odd, 13-10 performance against the Tennessee Titans. The latter was the latest, where Trevor Siemian attempted 51 passes and threw one touchdown while the once-proud Denver defense coughed up 180 rushing yards and one score.

For perspective, here's ESPN's Ed Werder:

Denver split the season series with the 5-8 San Diego Chargers and at best has a chance to do the same with the Oakland Raiders and Chiefs over the last three games of the season. Also in there is a brutal matchup against the New England Patriots.

This doesn't sound like a situation sure to allow the Broncos to enter the playoffs. Even if they do, the team's strengths haven't shown up in odd losses to teams like Tennessee. The payout might look great here, but this isn't last year's Broncos.

Don't Panic: Dallas Cowboys (5-1)

The Cowboys were going to lose sooner or later, so bettors shouldn't get too lost in the hysteria. A team boasting rookies at quarterback and running back was bound to drop a game, and especially a tough divisional one. 

As one can see from the standings above, the Cowboys have already clinched a playoff berth. This tends to happen when a team rattles off 11 consecutive wins bookended by losses to the same team.

Said team is the Giants, who stole a 10-7 decision from Dallas in Week 14. Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott threw one touchdown with two interceptions while Ezekiel Elliott rushed 24 times for 107 yards.

Long story short, the offense stumbled around and one of the league's best defenses coughed up one big play—a 61-yard touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr.—resulting in the loss.

"It’s a bad feeling, but I mean it kind of gets you resettled, gets you back right. I mean after we lost to these guys the first time, we went on that run, so maybe we can do something similar," Prescott said, according to USA Today's Jarrett Bell.

If the Cowboys had lost in a blowout or suffered a season-altering injury, it might be time to sound the alarm. But with a berth secure and winnable games against Tampa Bay, Detroit and Philadelphia the rest of the way, there is little reason to fear the Cowboys. 

In fact, the loss made the payout a little better here. The loss might just be a win for those who were waiting for an opportunity to invest.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.