NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Updated Standings After Thursday Night Football

It doesn't show it on first pass, but Week 15 of NFL action should provide some major shakeups in the power rankings. 

This Thursday Night Football looked good before the season. A duel between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts meant an elite defense of the former facing off against Andrew Luck of the latter. 

Instead? A Brock Osweiler-Jacoby Brissett showdown played to a 25-13 result, with the Broncos emerging the winners of an affair with more on the line in the draft standing than anything else. 

The rest of the slate isn't as shrug-worthy, not with games like Green Bay-Carolina, Los-Angeles-Seattle and New England-Pittsburgh on the schedule. Before the chaos unfolds, let's take a look at updated power rankings. 

2017 NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team
1	Pittsburgh Steelers (9-2)
2	New England Patriots (5-2)
3	Philadelphia Eagles (25-4)
4	Los Angeles Rams (14-1)
5	Jacksonville Jaguars (33-1)
6	Carolina Panthers (28-1)
7	Minnesota Vikings (17-2)
8	Los Angeles Chargers (28-1)
9	Seattle Seahawks (16-1)
10	Atlanta Falcons (16-1)
11	New Orleans Saints (14-1)
12	Tennessee Titans (33-1)
13	Detroit Lions (100-1)
14	Baltimore Ravens (50-1)
15	Buffalo Bills (300-1)
16	Green Bay Packers (25-1)
17	Kansas City Chiefs (33-1)
18	Dallas Cowboys (100-1)
19	Washington Redskins (300-1)
20	Arizona Cardinals (500-1)
21	Oakland Raiders (33-1)
22	Miami Dolphins (500-1)
23	Chicago Bears (1000-1)
24	New York Jets (300-1)
25	Cincinnati Bengals (200-1)
26	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1000-1)
27	San Francisco 49ers (5000-1)
28	Houston Texans (1000-1)
29	Denver Broncos (1000-1)
30	Indianapolis Colts (1000-1)
31	New York Giants (1000-1)
32	Cleveland Browns (5000-1)

Green Bay Packers

It didn't take long for the Green Bay Packers to once again become one of the most interesting teams in the NFL. 

The Packers took advantage of an exploitable schedule over the past two weeks, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-20 in overtime, then following it up with a 27-21 escape of the Cleveland Browns, also in overtime. This sounds bad, yet the Packers are 7-6. 

And now Aaron Rodgers is medically cleared and back. 

"Hopefully, it gives a lift to some of the guys, but I'm not coming back to save this team," Rodgers said, according to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "I'm coming back to play quarterback the way I know how to play it. Hopefully, we all raise the level of our play collectively and find a way to win these three games."

It isn't surprising Rodgers is downplaying his return. It not only fits his personality, but the Packers also have a brutal three-game stretch to close the year, facing Carolina and Detroit on the road and hosting Minnesota. From a league-wide perspective, the Packers already sit in the same division as the 10-win Vikings and three teams not leading divisions have eight or more victories.  

But anything is possible in the NFL, especially with arguably the league's best quarterback. Rodgers had looked like himself with 13 touchdowns against three interceptions before the injury. His running game and defense get an immediate boost with his being under center, so the Packers are far and away a top candidate to take a possible major leap in the power rankings over the next few weeks. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville defense would be fun in the playoffs, right? 

These Jacksonville Jaguars are downright dominant, having won six of their last seven and sitting on some gaudy numbers. 

How gaudy? Check out a note by NFL Research: 

The Jaguars only allow 15.5 points per game. They have 47 sacks already, 19 interceptions and 16 forced fumbles, of which they've recovered 11. One team has scored more than 30 points against the unit. Perhaps most impressive of all, these numbers aren't the product of an easy schedule—not with games against Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Seattle and both Los Angeles teams in the books. 

Most recently, this defense helped secure a 30-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks, somewhat containing MVP candidate Russell Wilson as he threw for a trio of scores and interceptions in the process. 

The offense will always be a question mark for the Jaguars with Blake Bortles under center. He's thrown 16 touchdowns against eight interceptions, but they're padded numbers in blowouts. But with a defense playing this well, one can't help hoping the unit gets a shot at a guy like Tom Brady with everything up for grabs. 

Seattle Seahawks

What are fans to make of those Seahawks? 

Wilson's team looked like it was tearing into regular-season form after the usual slow start. But the Seahawks have turned in a 3-3 mark since Week 9 to sit at 8-5. The wins over that span have come in impressive (Philadelphia) and not so impressive (San Francisco) fashion, but two of the losses have come to strong Atlanta and Jacksonville teams and a Washington team more talented than its record suggests. 

Now the Seahawks have to hope they can catch a nine-win Los Angeles Rams team. 

They aren't throwing in the towel on the NFC West: 

"

"We can still win the West." #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/VscfVrSocX

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 14, 2017"

Why would they? The Seahawks play host to the Rams in Week 15 and have one win over them already this year, a 16-10 affair way back in Week 5. Los Angeles has looked much better since as quarterback Jared Goff has come into his own, but a game in Seattle is always tough. 

Wilson has had his blips at times, but he's still sitting on 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while also leading the team in rushing and already the recipient of 30 sacks. His defense surrenders fewer than 20 points per game, but one can't help but get the feeling he's a one-man army. 

That one-man army looks to be at a disadvantage in the deep NFC, yet this is the time of year guys like Wilson shine. No matter what happens, the Seahawks are about to be one of the biggest movers in the power rankings. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.