NFL Playoff Picture 2016: Week 16 Wild-Card Hunt, Standings and Super Bowl Odds
The official road to Super Bowl 51—you know, the playoffs—is now mere weeks away. After the Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins do battle on Monday night, Week 15 will officially be over.
So far, it's been a very interesting week as things pertain to the looming playoff race. The Seattle Seahawks clinched the NFC West in the week's opener. The Dallas Cowboys took another step toward the No. 1 seed with a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Sunday's nightcap.
In between those two games, we saw the Oakland Raiders retake the lead in the AFC West, the Pittsburgh Steelers knock the Cincinnati Bengals out of playoff contention and the New England Patriots earn an eighth consecutive AFC East title.
While the playoff picture is finally beginning to take a firm form, things are still very far from set. Here, we're going to take a look at what the landscape at large looks like.
We'll be examining the latest Super Bowl odds—courtesy of OddsShark.com—and some of the top storylines to watch over the final two weeks of the season. First, though, let's take a look at the top teams remaining in the hunt in each conference.
Teams in the Hunt
| 1 | New England Patriots | 12-2 |
| 2 | Oakland Raiders | 11-3 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-5 |
| 4 | Houston Texans | 8-6 |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | 10-4 |
| 6 | Miami Dolphins | 9-5 |
| 7 | Baltimore Ravens | 9-5 |
| 8 | Tennessee Titans | 8-6 |
| 9 | Denver Broncos | 8-6 |
| 10 | Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills | 7-7 |
| 1 | Dallas Cowboys | 12-2 |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | 9-4-1 |
| 3 | Atlanta Falcons | 9-5 |
| 4 | Detroit Lions | 9-5 |
| 5 | New York Giants | 10-4 |
| 6 | Washington Redskins | 7-5-1 |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | 8-6 |
| 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-6 |
| 9 | Minnesota Vikings | 7-7 |
| 10 | New Orleans Saints | 6-8 |
Super Bowl Odds
| New England Patriots | 2.25-1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5-1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6.5-1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 16-1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 16-1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 16-1 |
| Detroit Lions | 20-1 |
| New York Giants | 20-1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 40-1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 50-1 |
| Washington Redskins | 50-1 |
| Denver Broncos | 50-1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 50-1 |
| Houston Texans | 50-1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 66-1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 75-1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 500-1 |
Storylines to Watch
AFC South Race
In recent years, the AFC South has widely been considered one of the weaker divisions in the NFL. However, this is definitely no longer the case, as the division has three teams still in the postseason hunt.
The 8-6 Houston Texans maintained their lead in the division with a come-from-behind victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Houston managed to overcome a 20-8 deficit to get the win, but head coach Bill O'Brien also benched starting quarterback Brock Osweiler in the process.
Tom Savage took over and led the comeback. He was an efficient 23-of-36 for 260 yards in the process and he helped the offense regain an explosive component. Whether Savage remains the starter or continues to improve the offense is something we'll have to wait to learn.
"We are always gonna make decisions in the best interests of the team and we'll regroup here tonight, we've got a short week and we'll make decisions on any starter that we have, we make decisions on that every week," O'Brien explained, per NFL Media's Gregg Rosenthal.
The Tennessee Titans also improved to 8-6 with a last-second win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. They'll play the Texans in the season finale in a game that will likely decide the division.
While the 7-7 Indianapolis Colts are on the outside looking in, they aren't officially out of the playoff hunt yet. If the Titans and Colts both finish 9-7, and the Texans lose their final two, the Colts would take the division.
Indianapolis has beaten the Titans twice already this season. The Colts will face the Oakland Raiders next week.
The AFC West Race
Those same Raiders retook the AFC West on Sunday by beating the San Diego Chargers in their own comeback win. Since the Titans knocked off the Chiefs, the Raiders took a one-game lead over Kansas City.
The battle between these two teams is going to be worth following over the next couple of weeks, because whichever team wins the division is likely to pick up the AFC's No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.
In order to stay on top, the Raiders will have to keep their one-game lead. This is because two of the team's three losses have come at the hands of the Chiefs.
Regardless, Oakland has clinched a playoff berth and will be a postseason participant.
The Denver Broncos got knocked off by the Patriots on Sunday, but they remain in the chase for a wild-card spot. However, the Broncos are going to need a little help in order to get into the postseason because the Dolphins are sitting at 9-5 and the Titans own a head-to-head victory.
The Broncos, however, can play a massive role in how the postseason field plays out. Denver plays the Chiefs in Week 16 before hosting the Raiders in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The NFC North Battle
The big question in the NFC is whether the Detroit Lions can hang onto their lead in the NFC North. Sunday's loss to the New York Giants allowed the 8-6 Green Bay Packers to gain ground in the race and allowed the 9-4-1 Seahawks to take over the No. 2 seed.
At 9-5, the Lions still lead the division, but they will host the Packers in the season finale. If both teams win in Week 16, that last game will determine the NFC North champion.
This is an important battle because both teams have proven to be dangerous foes. The Lions have already engineered eight fourth-quarter comebacks, while the Packers are a team that no one should want to face right now.
The Green Bay offense—which is already rated third overall by Pro Football Focus for the season—seems to have found a viable running back in converted receiver Ty Montgomery. This brings some much-needed balance to the team and makes the Packers a much more formidable playoff contender.
The ground game helped an injured Aaron Rodgers control Sunday's game and helped show that the Packers can win in a variety of ways. This—along with last week's blowout wins over Seattle—shows just how dangerous the team can be.
"And this is what Rodgers and the Packers do," Nancy Armour of USA Today recently wrote. "When the game and the season is on the line, they find ways to make plays. That ominous sound the Lions—and everyone else in the NFL, for that matter—heard Sunday was Rodgers and the Packers, coming up from behind."
Green Bay will play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16. If it can get past Minnesota, it'll get its chance to beat Detroit for the second time this season and to grab another division title. This would mean that one opponent would have to visit Lambeau to open the playoffs.
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