NFL Power Rankings 2015: AFC, NFC Records, Division Standings, Week 16 Outlook

With two weeks left in the regular season, the NFL playoff picture still needs plenty of sorting out.

Eighteen teams are still fighting for 12 spots, and many of the squads currently in postseason position are hoping to move up to avoid unfavorable matchups or even bypass a playoff round altogether.

Unfortunately, the playoff picture doesn't determine the best teams in the league at any given moment, but that's what power rankings are for. So let's look at where every team stands both in their division and stacked up against the league in a more subjective manner.

Division/Team	W	L	Playoff Seed
AFC East
New England Patriots	12	2	1
New York Jets	9	5	7
Buffalo Bills	6	8	9
Miami Dolphins	5	9	12
AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals	11	3	2
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	5	6
Baltimore Ravens	4	10	13
Cleveland Browns	3	11	15
AFC South
Houston Texans	7	7	4
Indianapolis Colts	6	8	10
Jacksonville Jaguars	5	9	11
Tennessee Titans	3	11	16
AFC West
Denver Broncos	10	4	3
Kansas City Chiefs	9	5	5
Oakland Raiders	6	8	8
San Diego Chargers	4	10	14
NFC East
Washington Redskins	7	7	4
Philadelphia Eagles	6	8	10
New York Giants	6	8	11
Dallas Cowboys	4	10	16
NFC North
Green Bay Packers	10	4	3
Minnesota Vikings	9	5	6
Detroit Lions	5	9	12
Chicago Bears	5	9	14
NFC South
Carolina Panthers	14	0	1
Atlanta Falcons	7	7	7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	8	9
New Orleans Saints	5	9	13
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals	12	2	2
Seattle Seahawks	9	5	5
St. Louis Rams	6	8	8
San Francisco 49ers	4	10	15

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

Important Matchups

Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles

The battle for NFC East supremacy has been a comedy of errors this season, but none of the three teams in contention care about that right now. They all just want a playoff berth.

Washington, at 7-7, currently holds a one-game lead over both Philadelphia and the New York Giants, but that seeding could do plenty of shuffling in the next couple of weeks. The Eagles are favored at home against the Redskins Saturday night, and a win for Chip Kelly's squad would keep the intradivision drama going. If Washington pulls it out, it will have the division title.

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

These squads are both maddeningly inconsistent and evenly matched, so it's hard to feel good about any prediction for the matchup. But considering the Redskins are on the road (they're 1-5 and have been outscored by 76 points in that situation this season) and not in quite as desperate a situation as their opponent, and with Philly having more talented players overall, I've got the Eagles winning by a hair.

New England Patriots at New York Jets

This storied AFC East rivalry will add another chapter Sunday afternoon at the Meadowlands. The first matchup between the teams this season was a tightly contested 30-23 Patriots win in Foxborough in Week 7, and all signs point to another close game in Week 16.

At 12-2, New England can clinch the AFC's top seed with a win, and the 9-5 Jets will likely have to defeat the Pats and then the Buffalo Bills in Week 17 to grab a wild-card spot. Obviously, the motivation factor tips slightly in New York's favor here, but that doesn't mean Bill Belichick's Pats will be dogging it out there by any means.

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Jets' No. 2-ranked rushing defense may be wasted a bit against the Patriots' pass-heavy attack, but if they can force New England to completely abandon the run (as they did in Week 7), they'll be in good shape. In front of a raucous MetLife Stadium crowd, I bet Brady misses a few of the passes he completed last time against the Jets.

Who wins, though? Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski form the toughest pass-catch duo to stop in the NFL, and it's never a good idea to bet against them and Belichick. Throw in the fact that the team announced they signed veteran running back Steven Jackson on Monday (knowing the Pats, he's pretty much guaranteed 100 yards from scrimmage this week), and New England is my pick in another close contest.

Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos

The Week 16 finale might be the most intriguing matchup on the docket, despite both division leaders sputtering over the second half of the season.

For the Bengals, A.J. McCarron will start for the injured Andy Dalton, while the Broncos have not decided on Brock Osweiler or Peyton Manning, per Mike Kils of 9NEWS. Considering Osweiler has an injured shoulder and Manning is old and rusty, that matchup actually could tilt in the inexperienced McCarron's favor.

Don Wright/Associated Press

Playoff implications run deep in this contest. Cincinnati (11-3) and Denver (10-4) are seeds No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the AFC, and a Broncos win would mean the two teams would switch. However, if the Bengals triumph, they'll have the No. 2 spot locked down, and the Broncos would be in serious danger of losing their division title and (gasp) even their playoff spot.

Denver's offense has been terrible at making in-game adjustments over the past three weeks (zero points after the intermission in those contests combined), plus neither quarterback will likely be at full capacity, so I've got McCarron's Bengals taking this one.