NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Updated Records, 2015-16 Super Bowl Odds

The week of the risers is upon NFL bettors and Week 15 power rankings.

Look at the teams on the rise and getting plenty of love out of Las Vegas: the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and...Jacksonville Jaguars?

Seriously, only one major contender took a hit over the weekend, making for quite the mess atop power rankings and providing little in the way of help sorting things out for the oddsmakers in Las Vegas.

Here's a look at power rankings based on the full season and how Las Vegas attempted to sort out the wildest year in recent memory going into Week 15.

Week 15 NFL Power Rankings and 2015-16 Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team	SB Odds
1	Carolina Panthers (13-0)	15-4
2	Arizona Cardinals (11-2)	11-2
3	Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5)	15-2
4	Seattle Seahawks (8-5)	6-1
5	New England Patriots (11-2)	15-4
6	Green Bay Packers (9-4)	10-1
7	Cincinnati Bengals (10-3)	22-1
8	Denver Broncos (10-3)	12-1
9	Minnesota Vikings (8-5)	50-1
10	Kansas City Chiefs (8-5)	16-1
11	New York Jets (8-5)	50-1
12	Oakland Raiders (6-7)	500-1
13	Washington (6-7)	100-1
14	Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8)	250-1
15	New York Giants (5-7)	50-1
16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)	300-1
17	Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)	50-1
18	Buffalo Bills (6-7)	300-1
19	Miami Dolphins (5-7)	500-1
20	Indianapolis Colts (6-7)	50-1
21	Houston Texans (6-7)	100-1
22	New Orleans Saints (5-8)	1000-1
23	St. Louis Rams (5-8)	1000-1
24	Detroit Lions (4-9)	12-1
25	Chicago Bears (5-8)	300-1
26	Cleveland Browns (3-10)	2000-1
27	Dallas Cowboys (4-9)	150-1
28	Atlanta Falcons (6-7)	500-1
29	San Diego Chargers (3-10)	1000-1
30	Baltimore Ravens (4-9)	100-1
31	Tennessee Titans (3-10)	750-1
32	San Francisco 49ers (4-9)	1000-1

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Odds Analysis

The Hail Mary for Fun: Jacksonville Jaguars (250-1)

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Stop laughing.

This time last week, these Jaguars had 1000-1 odds, so not a bad increase, right? So it goes when the Jaguars wax the Indianapolis Colts 51-16—not a typo—and stand in a position to not only steal the AFC South, but sneak into the postseason.

It'd be one thing if the Jaguars only had Blake Bortles' three scores and the team's two rushing scores going for them in the whipping of the Colts, but the team has now posted 39 or more points in two consecutive games—albeit the first was a loss.

Coach Gus Bradley has built a solid offensive core over the years that is finally beginning to click. Said core figures to stay red hot in the coming weeks against two of the league's most laughable defenses out of the NFC South, the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. 

The Jaguars finish the season on the road in Houston, though by then, it's hard to know how the Texans will look with J.J. Watt playing hurt and the team already on a two-game skid. 

With such an incredible payout, why not ride this one for fun? 

Panic Time: Cincinnati Bengals (22-1)

Frank Victores/Associated Press

The team hinted in the intro as struggling would be the Cincinnati Bengals.

Normally a 33-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers would be the concern, but the spotlight in the wake of the defeat goes to the injury suffered by quarterback Andy Dalton.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the team looks at missing its starter under center for at least the final three games of the regular season:

This leaves AJ McCarron as the starter. He looked all right given the circumstances in a rivalry game after Dalton went down, posting a 22-of-32 line for 280 yards with a pair of scores and picks.

For bettors, though, this might approach a no-fly zone scenario. Some might use this as an opportunity to buy up, though, considering the Bengals still sit in the driver's seat of the AFC North and have easy matchups against San Francisco and Baltimore left on the schedule.

Others, though, might take a pass with so many interesting risers on the table.

Favorite to Buy: Seattle Seahawks (6-1)

What's going to stop the Seahawks? 

For those somehow out of the loop, Russell Wilson and Co. look on a warpath and have won four in a row behind a high-flying passing attack that has helped the team score 35 or more points in each of its past three games.

In this past weekend's 35-6 thumping of the Baltimore Ravens on the road, for example, Wilson flicked five touchdown passes with no interceptions, three of the touchdowns going to newfound favorite target Doug Baldwin.

So what's changed for a team that started the season 2-4? For Seattle coach Pete Carroll, it's all about the play of the offensive line, according to ESPN.com: "Those guys protected all day. Russell had the opportunity to sit back, and then he took full advantage of it and again had another big game throwing the football."

Given the recent outburst, the Seahawks look to have a Wild Card berth in hand with the other main competition for a slot being the 8-5 Minnesota Vikings out of the NFC North.

It's hard to see Seattle losing either of its next two games considering they come against downtrodden Cleveland and St. Louis clubs. A trip to Arizona might be an intriguing end-of-season affair, though.

Either way, nobody wants to play these Seahawks right now. In turn, this makes them the hottest betting commodity around down the stretch.

Stats are courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of December 14. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.