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

The Philadelphia Eagles started off Week 16 with a 24-19 upset of the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football.

It's an ominous sign for playoff hopefuls, as the upset saw the Eagles dash the Giants' playoff hopes for now, spoiling the team's shot at a bid.

The unexpected result has a big impact on the power rankings. Here's a look at the league standings after Thursday:

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

Thanks to the upset, Philadelphia removes itself from the bottom of the barrel after losing five in a row. Getting a few touchdowns from the offense and one by the defense will do that for a team searching for the reasons it all went wrong this season.

The Giants take a hit in the rankings, though it's hard to knock the team too much. The Giants had not only won two in a row going into Thursday, but they also impressively swept the Dallas Cowboys.

Again, more than anything, the upset speaks to how crazy the final weeks of the season can be as underdogs look to play spoiler. Below, let's take a look at a few teams with the most on the line in Week 16.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers can almost taste it.

After looking like a team destined to miss the playoffs and probably set to undergo big changes in the offseason, the Packers forgot all about four losses in a row and have rattled off four straight wins to climb to 8-6.

Now, the Packers hit Week 16 needing to take care of business against the Minnesota Vikings. Sounds easy, seeing as the Vikings have hit 7-7 after losing three of four and seven of nine.

These Vikings beat the Packers in Week 2, though, 17-14. In that game, the Green Bay defense let Sam Bradford toss two scores, while Aaron Rodgers suffered five sacks.

Times have changed, of course. These teams have gone in opposite directions as of late, with the Packers becoming stronger on offense thanks to wideout Ty Montgomery working out of the backfield and Christine Michael arriving.

In a Week 15 win against the Chicago Bears, Montgomery rushed 16 times for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Since then, he's been the subject of praise from head coach Mike McCarthy, per Stats LLC (via ESPN.com).

"Everybody wants to keep talking about Ty as a receiver, and that's fine—I think he broke 12 tackles in the game in Chicago," McCarthy said. "And Christine Michael's just getting more and more comfortable with not only the scheme but the guys he's playing with."

As the weather gets colder and the playoffs near, it's looking more and more like the Packers can beat the Vikings at their own game.

If Green Bay gets a win, another bump up the power rankings becomes justified. It also puts the team in a great position going into a season-ending showdown with the Detroit Lions. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another team making the NFC interesting.

Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers sit on an 8-6 record with wins against the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks recently but a loss against the Dallas Cowboys.

That loss is the only one over the team's last six games, though, as the Buccaneers have come alive in a big way. Winston has a knack for leading his team to clutch drives, and his defense permits only 23 points per game on average—only two teams have scored more than 20 points on the unit over the six-game tear.

The New Orleans Saints now stand in the way. Tampa Bay downed the Saints in Week 14, but it was a 16-11 affair at home in which the defense picked off Drew Brees three times. Going into New Orleans and getting a similar performance isn't a sure thing. Attempting to do so while at the same time hoping the other games favor a Buccaneers playoff push is a tall task.

It's one Winston welcomes, of course, per Stats LLC (via ESPN.com): "I love math, but I don't trust percentages and probabilities. I trust our heart—this team's heart—and what we need to do to get in there."

The Buccaneers have upended notable teams and played contenders such as the Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders close, splitting the season series with the former and going to overtime before a loss against the latter.

Completing a season sweep of the Saints would put the Buccaneers in a position to do the same to the Carolina Panthers to close the season. As if going into New Orleans and stealing a win isn't impressive enough, right?

Winston might care little for numbers, but winning this week would provide another big boon in the power rankings, recouping losses after a stumble against Dallas.

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

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