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NFL Week 15 power rankings: Super Bowl contenders taking shape

vincent parise, bears wire
·3 min read

Week 14 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books, which featured some thrilling games as December football kicked off.

While there are still four games left this season, there is a small group of teams emerging as Super Bowl contenders in this final stretch. We know the elite teams and the bad teams but there is a whole lot of mediocrity in between. The parity in the NFL is at an all-time high as any team can legit beat anyone at any time.

Here's our updated power rankings heading into Week 15:

The Contenders

1. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 2)

2. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 1)

3. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 3)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 4)

5. Baltimore Ravens: (Last Week: 5)

6. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 6)

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 8)

8. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 7)

9. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 10)

There may only be five or six teams in this tier that can win the Super Bowl. But teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers are going to make things difficult on those squads once January comes around. The Buffalo Bills did their best Cincinnati Bengals impression as their elite QB put up incredible numbers and they still ended up losing the game. Still, one close loss isn't going to deteriorate their chances of making it to the Super Bowl a couple of months from now. Every team in here has something about them that makes them elite. They all, however, have a weakness that they can point to as something to overcome.

Teams to Watch

10. Houston Texans (Last Week: 11)

11. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 12)

12. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 13)

13. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 9)

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 14)

15. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 15)

16. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 16)

17. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 17)

These are the teams that could, in theory, make the playoffs. If they get in, they will have a chance to go on and do something special. All of them have a player on their team that could be considered a game breaker, whether that's a QB, a playmaker, or a coach. All of them have QBs that they are comfortable with. There are a few guys who have played in the Super Bowl before, a few rookies, and a couple of veterans looking to take that big step. None of these teams are bad, none of these teams have been consistent enough to warrant being called elite, but none of them are teams you can mess with if you draw them in the postseason.

More to Prove

18. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 19)

19. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 20)

20. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 21)

21. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 18)

22. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 22)

23. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 23)

24. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 24)

25. New England Patriots (Last Week: 28)

26. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 26)

27. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 25)

28. New York Jets (Last Week: 29)

29. New York Giants (Last Week: 30)

30. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 31)

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 32)

32. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 27)

The teams in this tier, even the ones near the top, aren't going to have a chance at winning the Super Bowl. If one of them were to sneak in, it would be a quick exit for them. There is a lot of bad here too. The Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, and Jacksonville Jaguars have done a whole lot of losing lately. Only time will tell what the order is for the 2025 NFL draft. Some of these teams are close to taking a big step, potentially in 2025, and some of them are lightyears away.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL Week 15 power rankings: Super Bowl contenders taking shape