NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Chargers, Patriots, Seahawks Will Continue Surges

The NFL regular season is just two weeks away from ending.

As is always the case, many teams are fading down the stretch. Others are surging.

For those teams that are red-hot in the closing weeks, it may be enough to make the playoffs. But, it could also be too little, too late.

Even if the playoffs aren't ultimately in the cards for these rolling teams, their late-season success is certainly something that can help in building towards next year.

Here are three surging teams that will continue their ascent with Week 16 victories.

San Diego Chargers

When the San Diego Chargers began the season 4-1, it looked as if they would cruise to an AFC West crown. The Bolts proceeded to lose six straight games, however, and were essentially dead in the water.

They have since gone on a three-game winning streak, and are now 7-7—just one game behind the Denver Broncos in the division—after thrashing the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.

San Diego only has two weeks to complete an epic comeback, so each game is absolutely vital. This week, the Chargers will face a tough road test against the Detroit Lions, who can clinch their first playoff appearance since 1999 with a win.

While the Lions are a very good squad in their own right, they've had to win many of their games in heart-stopping fashion. With the way the Chargers are playing, the Lions can't afford to fall behind early. But, I believe they will.

New England Patriots

After losing back-to-back games to the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants several weeks ago, many were beginning to think that the New England Patriots might be in trouble. After all, they have perhaps the worst pass defense in the history of football and an inconsistent running game.

Since that mini skid, however, the Pats have rattled off six straight wins and are in line to claim the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

The biggest reason for that is the play of quarterback Tom Brady and his top two weapons—Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. The passing game has been humming along to the point that it was good enough to beat Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.

New England has a fairly easy game against the Miami Dolphins this week, and there's no way Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will take his foot off the accelerator.

Seattle Seahawks

It what has been a remarkable and unexpected run. The Seattle Seahawks have won five of their past six games and have improved their record to 7-7.

While their postseason hopes are on life support, they aren't completely dead. It depends on what the Detroit Lions do.

Seattle will have a very tough game if it hopes to stay alive any longer, as they host the 11-3 San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.

The Niners are coming off a massive Monday-night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I get the feeling that they may have exerted all their energy in winning that game. It would probably be easy to look past the Seahawks after such a big win. Seattle is excellent at home, so it will have that advantage as well.

Also, the irresistible force will meet the immovable object when Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch takes on the Niners' league-best run defense. I think Lynch is playing so well right now that he will be able to break through.

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