NFL Power Rankings Week 17: Latest 2015 Standings and Pre-Finale Reaction

Week 17 is upon us.

The NFL season is nearing its end, and the playoff picture is almost set. The only thing left is to make the standings final and figure out who's playing who in the postseason.

Now that Week 16's Monday night game is over and done with, here are the updated standings and some reactions to how the 32 teams look heading into the regular-season finale.

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

The Cowboys Would've Won the NFC East if Healthy...But Who Cares

So, ESPN's man with many opinions, Skip Bayless, tweeted this after the Washington Redskins won the NFC East on Saturday:

Yes, the Dallas Cowboys would've won the NFC East had Tony Romo and Dez Bryant not gotten hurt, or if the quarterback play beyond Romo had not played terribly the rest of the way.

It is what it is. But it doesn't matter at this point. That's just like saying the New England Patriots could've finished the season undefeated had they not lost to the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles. It means nothing. 

This Cowboys team was, in fact, ready to make a Super Bowl run this year. After being robbed at Lambeau Field in last year's playoffs, Dallas retained nearly everyone and added pieces like rookies Byron Jones and Randy Gregory.

Now, the Cowboys are set for a top-five pick in the NFL draft and will need to start over again next year. Should Romo and Bryant stay healthy, the Cowboys will be back next year and rival the likes of Carolina and Arizona in the NFC.

Then it'll be all right for Bayless to tweet something about the Cowboys winning the division. It doens't mean anything right now.

What Happened to the AFC South?

This might be one of the great questions when looking back on this season.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck did not play his best football at the beginning of the year. The Houston Texans' quarterback circus was ridiculous. The Jacksonville Jaguars took a step in the right direction. Tennessee also showed the future is bright with rookie signal-caller Marcus Mariota.

And yet, this division can still be won if the Texans finish 8-8. The celebration in Houston will have to wait until Sunday, though, thanks to the Denver Broncos beating the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night. A unique tiebreaker scenario would've given the Texans the division title if the Bengals had won.

NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano provides a rundown of what needs to happen for the Colts to win the division, and it's the equivalent of winning the lottery:

Houston should finally end this battle of attrition and take the division crown Sunday. If not, it would be the most absurd collapse in the history of football, and it wouldn't be the Texans' fault.