NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Updated Standings After Thursday Night Football

The Seattle Seahawks claimed the NFC West title with a 24-3 dismissal of the Los Angeles Rams on the Week 15 edition of Thursday Night Football.

From a power rankings standpoint, little changes after the week's first game. Barring a miracle consisting of the Rams winning on the road a few days after firing a head coach, little was set to change after the anticipated outcome.

Here is a look at the updated power rankings after the first game of Week 15:

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

Thursday, Seattle got three passing scores from Russell Wilson while the Rams mustered 136 passing yards, 47 rushing yards and a 3-of-12 mark on third down.

While impressive, Seattle struggles to move up much in the rankings. The Seahawks have still lost two of their last four games, the losses coming on the road 14-5 and 38-10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers. Looking great at home is one thing, but an inability to even look competitive on the road doesn't inspire much confidence.

Alas, Seattle has a chance to claw its way back up rankings over the final two weeks of the season. Beforehand, let's take a look at a few teams with the most at stake in Week 15.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Don't look now, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could make the biggest statement of Week 15.

Tampa Bay is surprisingly a playoff contender and sits tied for first in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons at 8-5. Jameis Winston has helped the team grab five wins in a row, with Week 15 offering a chance at an emphatic sixth.

See, beating playoff hopefuls such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks is great. Downing the Dallas Cowboys, though, would be on a whole different level.

Remember, Dallas is the team that rattled off 11 consecutive wins and has already secured a playoff berth. It's a team with two rookies who could very well contend for the MVP and a defense permitting just 18.3 points per game.

Yet Tampa Bay pulling off the road upset doesn't seem so outlandish. The Buccaneers only allow 22.8 points per game and Winston has morphed into one of the league's best quarterbacks, sitting on 23 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.

This isn't meant to suggest the defense has been slacking—just look at a note by ESPN's Field Yates:

If Winston and his defense can get a win in arguably their toughest game of the season, they close the year with chances at season sweeps against divisional foes in the form of the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. 

Tennessee Titans

Winston isn't alone in his status as a young quarterback quietly making a playoff push before leading the next generation of quarterbacks.

Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans knows a thing or two about this. He has the Titans tied for first in the AFC South with the Houston Texans at 7-6 and also has a chance to make a serious statement in power rankings before facing two more divisional rivals.

Mariota has thrown for 25 touchdowns to eight picks on the season while flanked by a rejuvenated DeMarco Murray, who has 1,135 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per carry.

Even the opposition acknowledges the strides made by Mariota this year. Andy Reid, head coach of the Chiefs, touched on these before their Week 15 encounter, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com):

"

His ability to throw the football and read the defenses have come a long ways. Things have slowed down for him. The addition of the run game has also helped their football team. You can see that he's more comfortable now then he was when he first came in. He's healthy now too, which helps.

"

Upending a Kansas City defense allowing just 19.6 points per game on the road is far from an easy task. At the same time, though, it almost seems as if the run-first, defensive-minded Titans were built specifically for games like this.

If it happens, Mariota and the Titans shoot up the boards before getting a chance to sweep the Jacksonville Jaguars and even the season series with the Texans.

From there, Mariota might just make some noise in the playoffs sooner than anyone would have expected.

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

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.