NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Examining 2015 Season Before Thursday Night Football

Top teams losing in the NFL is not always cause for alarm, but there were definitely a few noteworthy wins that should cause fans to take notice heading into Week 15. 

While the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals each lost Sunday, it's important not to forget what either has done to this point. Although the Bengals certainly have question marks without quarterback Andy Dalton at the helm, they are still better than most of the other teams in the league. With such a big drop-off after the top teams, there wasn't much change at all early in the power rankings.

However, the real action comes from the middle, where a number of squads are either greatly helping or hurting their playoff chances each game. This has created meaningful shifts in the rankings, either by number or specific placement.

Here is the latest outlook for the NFL heading into Week 15 with a breakdown of the most noteworthy risers.

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

Jacksonville Jaguars

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Just one week earlier, the Jacksonville Jaguars had suffered arguably their worst defeat of the year at the hands of the Tennessee Titans, losing a wild 42-30 game. All of a sudden, however, the Jaguars are a realistic playoff contender despite a 5-8 record.

Jacksonville dominated the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to earn a 51-16 victory. It was not only a message to the rest of the division, but it was a message to its own team of how good it can be if it plays to its ability. Head coach Gus Bradley explained as much after the game, per Sam Kouvaris of News 4 Jax:

"

I think it provides even a clearer picture to when we do things right in all three phases what we have a chance to be. So, that’s a great message. I think you can talk it, about, ‘Hey, if we put these three phases together, and then let’s see what happens.’ Well, we had this experience now that took place that I think paints a vivid picture for the players. 

"

Quarterback Blake Bortles certainly makes his mistakes and still struggles with accuracy, but he also has 30 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions this season to go with 3,524 passing yards. With some elite receivers around him, all of a sudden this is a tough offense to stop.

Most importantly, the AFC South has really struggled this year, with the Colts and Houston Texans tied for first place at 6-7. The two teams play each other in Week 15, giving Jacksonville a chance to tie one of them after next week if it can beat the Atlanta Falcons, losers of six straight. From there, a playoff berth isn't out of the question if the Jaguars can keep winning.

This is something that would have been considered far-fetched even last week, but a young team that can recover from mistakes while playing in a bad division creates enough of an opportunity to surprise everyone with an AFC South title.

Philadelphia Eagles

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Speaking of bad divisions with first-place teams having losing records, the NFC East has been a mess this season. However, the final few weeks will be interesting to watch with three teams all 6-7 and a bunch of divisional games remaining on the schedule.

While any of the three teams are capable of winning the division, the Philadelphia Eagles are the ones most surprisingly in this position. It was only a few weeks ago they were getting dismantled on Thanksgiving by the Detroit Lions, and questions about head coach Chip Kelly's future were louder than ever.

Since that 45-14 loss, however, the Eagles have earned two impressive victories over the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com praised the coach for the turnaround:

The loss to the Lions was the third defeat in a row, and it wasn't out of the question to consider the 4-7 group one of the worst in the league. All of a sudden the Eagles are a real contender for the playoffs and a team no one should want to face if they get there.

Whether the eventual NFC East winner has a losing record or not, the important thing for Philadelphia is that it gave itself a chance at contention with its play in recent weeks. Considering how bad it looked last month, this is a borderline miracle.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Gary Landers/Associated Press

The win over the Bengals lifted the Pittsburgh Steelers only two places in the power rankings from last week, which is a smaller jump than many others on the list. However, this is simply because there isn't much room to rise. The fact is this group has put itself in the elite category and is legitimately a Super Bowl contender based on the way it has played.

This isn't a slight against the Green Bay Packers or Kansas City Chiefs—both of whom won Sunday—but instead just nod at how good the Steelers are at this stage.

Obviously, many can point to the fact Cincinnati lost Andy Dalton early in the game, but it is the Steelers offense that has truly shone as of late. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has done an excellent job spreading the ball around, while wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant do the rest. With an offensive line that continues to clear space for running back DeAngelo Williams, it is a group that is difficult to stop.

Pittsburgh scored 33 points against a tough Bengals defense and is now averaging 35.2 points in the past five games Roethlisberger has played.

Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus gave his thoughts on the group:

Although the defense has had its faults, it at least can stop the run and make opponents one-dimensional. If it can continue to force turnovers, this will be more than enough to win games with the way the offense is playing.

If Roethlisberger is at full strength going forward, Pittsburgh has as much of a chance in the AFC as anyone.

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