NFL Power Rankings Week 16: 2015-16 Conference Standings and Super Bowl Odds

The NFL playoff picture begins to come into sharp contrast ahead of Week 16 with Cam Newton's undefeated Carolina Panthers leading the way. 

Looking at the conference standings, the NFC's much easier to figure out than the AFC, where surging teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs reside, not to mention plenty close on the heels of current postseason leaders.

As usual, the best way to make sense of the madness is to align every team into a digestible table, otherwise known as power rankings. Below, let's take a look at rankings based on season-long results and much more along with Las Vegas' feelings on the matter.

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

Rank	Team	SB Odds
1	Carolina Panthers	4-1
2	Arizona Cardinals	13-2
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	13-2
4	Seattle Seahawks	13-2
5	New England Patriots	13-4
6	Kansas City Chiefs	18-1
7	Green Bay Packers	10-1
8	Cincinnati Bengals	20-1
9	Denver Broncos	14-1
10	Minnesota Vikings	50-1
11	Washington	66-1
12	New York Jets	75-1
13	Oakland Raiders	500-1
14	New York Giants	75-1
15	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	500-1
16	Philadelphia Eagles	75-1
17	Buffalo Bills	500-1
18	Jacksonville Jaguars	500-1
19	Houston Texans	75-1
20	Indianapolis Colts	100-1
21	New Orleans Saints	1000-1
22	Atlanta Falcons	500-1
23	Miami Dolphins	500-1
24	St. Louis Rams	1000-1
25	Detroit Lions	1000-1
26	Chicago Bears	300-1
27	San Diego Chargers	1000-1
28	Dallas Cowboys	200-1
29	Baltimore Ravens	100-1
30	Tennessee Titans	750-1
31	Cleveland Browns	2000-1
32	San Francisco 49ers	1000-1

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Conference Standings

AFC
NFC
* -New England Patriots	12	2
x -Cincinnati Bengals	11	3
Denver Broncos	10	4
Kansas City Chiefs	9	5
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	5
New York Jets	9	5
Houston Texans	7	7
Oakland Raiders	6	8
Buffalo Bills	6	8
Indianapolis Colts	6	8
Jacksonville Jaguars	5	9
Miami Dolphins	5	9
Baltimore Ravens	4	10
San Diego Chargers	4	10
Cleveland Browns	3	11
Tennessee Titans	3	11
* -Carolina Panthers	14	0
z -Arizona Cardinals	12	2
x -Green Bay Packers	10	4
x -Seattle Seahawks	9	5
Minnesota Vikings	9	5
Washington Redskins	7	7
Atlanta Falcons	7	7
St. Louis Rams	6	8
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	8
Philadelphia Eagles	6	8
New York Giants	6	8
New Orleans Saints	5	8
Chicago Bears	5	9
Detroit Lions	4	9
San Francisco 49ers	4	10
Dallas Cowboys	4	10

Odds Analysis

Kansas City Chiefs (18-1)

Can anything stop the Chiefs? 

Were it not for an ugly start to the season, Andy Reid's team might be in control of the AFC West. That's in the past, though, and what's important now is the team's positioning just one game behind the Denver Broncos thanks to an epic tear. 

The tear now sits at eight games and made a bit of history, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

The Chiefs are simply steady, which is never a bad thing. Quarterback Alex Smith has thrown just four interceptions this year while guiding the offense, and Charcandrick West continues to post big days in the backfield when healthy.

Perhaps most impressive is the defense, which has allowed 20 or more points just two times in the eight-game streak, the high sitting at 22. The path remains rather simplistic as the season winds down, too, thanks to games against the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders, the latter a team the Chiefs already beat in 34-20 fashion.

Many chat about teams others don't want to face in the playoffs. The Chiefs, often cited or not, might top the list.

Washington (66-1)

Don't look now, but Washington sits alone atop the NFC East.

Inconsistency personified for most of the season, Washington's 7-7 record makes sense. What also does, though, is the team's first winning streak of the season, which sits at two games thanks to wins against the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills.

The team mostly has quarterback Kirk Cousins to thank. After starting the season with eight interceptions over his first six outings, the Michigan State product now looks like one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league with 12 touchdowns to two interceptions over the team's last six outings, of which the team has won four.

Coach Jay Gruden spoke with the media about his quarterback's resiliency, per the team's Twitter account:

With DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed healthy, it's almost scary to think of how far Washington can go.

Washington finishes the season with road NFC East encounters against the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. Cousins and Co. already beat the former once and suffered an upset against the latter, but both stand as winnable contests before the team hits the postseason. 

At this payout, bettors might want to pounce.

Pittsburgh Steelers (13-2)

They don't have an eight-game streak, but the Steelers do have Antonio Brown.

It sounds silly on first pass, that being a single player making a team a Super Bowl threat, but that's pretty much what Brown does for the Steelers.

Look at this past weekend, when Ben Roethlisberger orchestrated an epic comeback win against the Denver Broncos, owners of the best secondary in the league. There, Brown erupted for 16 catches on 18 targets for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

What Brown does is hard to explain, but put it this way—he compensated for a defense that let up three touchdowns passes by Denver backup quarterback Brock Osweiler and a one-dimensional Pittsburgh offense that mustered only 23 yards on 17 carries.

Defense is the biggest weakness for Pittsburgh and has been all season. It's not something that will magically change at this point. But with Big Ben healthy and Brown playing out of his mind, Pittsburgh's one of the most dangerous teams around.

It's cupcake time, too. Pittsburgh finishes the season with games against the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, meaning the Steelers look sure to head to the postseason healthy and with a full head of steam.

The AFC might not have been the most entertaining conference around this year until down the stretch, but teams like the Steelers and Chiefs make it quite interesting while providing bettors with plenty of worthwhile options.

Stats are courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of December 21. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.