NFL Power Rankings 2016: Updated Standings, Super Bowl Odds for Week 15

We're now another week closer to the end of the 2016 NFL regular season. On Thursday night, the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams will kick off Week 15.

With a win on Thursday, the Seahawks can lock up the NFC West title. Other teams, including the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs, can also secure playoff spots with victories this week.

We're going to take a look at where all 32 teams stand. We'll be power ranking teams based on their current Super Bowl odds—courtesy of OddsShark—and examining some of the more interesting entries on the list.

First, though, let's take a look at the current AFC and NFC standings.

Week 15 Standings

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

Week 15 Power Rankings

Rank	Team	SB Odds
1	New England Patriots	2.9-1
2	Dallas Cowboys	5-1
3	Seattle Seahawks	6.5-1
4	Kansas City Chiefs	9-1
5	Pittsurgh Steelers	9-1
6	Oakland Raiders	16-1
7	Atlanta Falcons	16-1
8	Green Bay Packers	16-1
9	New York Giants	20-1
10	Detroit Lions	20-1
11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	40-1
12	Denver Broncos	50-1
13	Washington Redskins	50-1
14	Baltimore Ravens	50-1
15	Minnesota Vikings	50-1
16	Houston Texans	50-1
17	Indianapolis Colts	66-1
18	Tennessee Titans	75-1
19	Miami Dolphins	100-1
20	Buffalo Bills	200-1
21	New Orleans Saints	300-1
22	Carolina Panthers	500-1
23	Cincinnati Bengals	500-1
24	Philadelphia Eagles	500-1
25	Chicago Bears	500-1
26	Arizona Cardinals	500-1
27	San Diego Chargers	500-1
28	New York Jets	N/A
29	Los Angeles Rams	N/A
30	Jacksonville Jaguars	N/A
31	San Francisco 49ers	N/A
32	Cleveland Browns	N/A

Notable Rankings

2. Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys may have lost in Week 14, but they appear to be closing the gap with the Patriots as far as Super Bowl odds are concerned. There are likely a couple of reasons for this.

One is the play of the Cowboys defense in recent weeks. While it seemed like the offense, led by rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, was carrying the team early on, the Dallas defense has begun to exceed virtually all early expectations.

While the New York Giants beat the Cowboys last Sunday, they didn't do so with ease. This was despite the fact that Prescott played poorly—45.9 completion percentage, 165 yards, touchdown, two interceptions—and the Dallas offense was mostly ineffective.

The Cowboys defense kept Dallas in the game until the very end. The unit limited the Giants to just 260 net yards of offense and 10 points.

Another reason why the Cowboys are gaining ground on New England could be the Patriots' loss of star tight end Rob Gronkowski.

While New England didn't seem to miss Gronkowski during Monday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, it's hard to deny that the offense isn't better with him on the field. In fact, quarterback Tom Brady has only thrown for 400 yards three times since 2010 with Gronkowski out of the lineup.

The Patriots could struggle to score points without Gronkowski during the postseason. Offensively, the Cowboys have all of their playmakers healthy.

3. Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks still have the third-best odds of winning the Super Bowl, according to the oddsmakers. This is a point, though, where we're going to disagree. This isn't a Seahawks team that we can see winning the big game playing the way it is right now.

The first problem is Seattle's tendency to play garbage offense on the road. Seattle's offense has had outings of three, six, five and 10 points on the road this season. You can point to strong offensive performances like the one against the Patriots in New England and say that the potential is there, but this type of inconsistency isn't going to survive the postseason.

Even if the Seahawks somehow manage to get their offense in sync, there's the matter of the team's value-shop offensive line. Pro Football Focus rated Seattle's line 31st in run blocking and dead last in pass blocking. Going against a playoff-caliber defensive front is likely to prove difficult.

It's also become apparent that Seattle's offense relies almost entirely on the ability of quarterback Russell Wilson. When he is consistently pressured or plays poorly, the Seahawks slump.

Danny O'Neil of 710 ESPN Seattle recently wrote the following:

"

Seattle’s past two losses have shown that he’s now the engine for the offense, the rudder who determines which direction the team is going and the keel who keeps the whole thing from capsizing, too. When he struggles like he did Sunday in Green Bay, the Seahawks have no shot. And when he’s not particularly good – which was the case in Tampa Bay – the Seahawks are going to have a hard time ever putting the ball in the end zone.

"

The loss of safety Earl Thomas also dramatically impacts Seattle's championship chances because it changes what the team can and does do on defense. The Seahawks cannot rely on strict man coverage as much without Thomas, and the trickle-down affects the defense's ability to pass rush.

The end result is that quarterbacks are able to find holes in the defense, as Green Bay Packers signal-caller Aaron Rodgers did last week. He produced 246 yards and three touchdowns during the 38-10 Packers rout.

8. Green Bay Packers

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Speaking of Rodgers and the Packers, it's worth noting just how high the oddsmakers are on Green Bay at this point. The Packers have been playing well over the past few weeks, but they need help just to even get into the postseason.

Our guess, though, is that the Packers do wind up in the playoffs as NFC North champions.

Now, the Packers cannot achieve this on their own. They need to win out and finish the season 10-6 to even have a chance. They'll then need the Detroit Lions to drop two of their last three games in order to share that 10-6 record.

If the Packers beat the Lions in the regular-season finale—in the process handing Detroit one of those two losses—the Packers would move ahead in the standings. The Packers have already defeated the Lions once this season.

It's not wholly unrealistic to think the Lions can pick up one loss between their other two games. Detroit plays the Giants this week and faces the mighty Cowboys in Week 16. Both of those games are on the road.

The good news for Green Bay is that all three of its remaining opponents are NFC North rivals. This means there is familiarity there, and the Packers can knock the 7-6 Minnesota Vikings out of the division race as well.

If the Packers can sneak into the postseason, they could prove dangerous if their current level of play continues.

Green Bay has won its last three games by the combined score of 86-36.