NFL Week 16 power rankings: Bills make a statement, Eagles prevail

The National Football League is getting to the good part. The end of the season looms and there is still so much to be figured out. Which teams are going to get the No. 1 seed and a bye in the first round? Which teams will win their division and the right to host a playoff game?

Maybe most importantly, who is going to be the last team to round out the postseason field with a chance at making a run to the Super Bowl? Who is going to just miss out on the playoffs and wonder what happened? Even the bad teams have something to think about like high-end first-round draft picks.

After Week 15, we have a perfectly good idea about which teams are in the mix and which ones have no chance. Here are our Week 16 power rankings:

The Contenders

1. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 1)

2. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 2)

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. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 7)

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 8)

The Detroit Lions are an elite team, but they are the most injured team in the NFL right now with 22 guys on injured reserve. They still made it interesting late against the Buffalo Bills but came up just short. Right now, Detroit has to take the No. 2 spot with the Bills on top because of that game and the health state of each roster.

The Kansas City Chiefs thought that they lost Patrick Mahomes for a few weeks, but he was a full participant in practice on Tuesday. If he plays, the Chiefs can beat anybody. They are one of only a handful of teams that hasn't scored more than 30 points this season, but they're the only team in that group with more than three wins. At 13-1, they have a chance to top the Bills for a right at the No. 1 seed and a playoff bye.

The Philadelphia Eagles proved everyone wrong again as they took down their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Steelers, who are also in this contender tier. Nobody can say that they aren't one of the few NFC threats to Detroit. The rest of the teams on this list will be looking to beat out the top four. They are all good enough to believe that they can but they'd have a mountain to climb.

Teams to Watch

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 14)

10. Houston Texans (Last Week: 11)

11. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 12)

12. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 10)

13. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 15)

14. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 9)

15. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 13)

16. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 17)

17. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 20)

18. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 19)

19. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 21)

20. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 18)

All of these teams have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs. Only teams 8-15 are the ones that truly have a chance at making the postseason and potentially going on a run. Any of the teams in this tier could win a playoff game, but it is hard to see them playing on Championship Sunday when that time comes.

Some people think very highly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady left behind a way of operating that helped the winning continue. Over the last two years since he left, people believed they'd become a contender for the No. 1 pick. They were wrong. Baker Mayfield is one more great performance and win away from people thinking of them as a potential contender in the NFC.

There are some great quarterbacks in this group, but there is only one truly elite superstar QB. That would be Joe Burrow. The Cincinnati Bengals are still alive, but their chances are slim and everyone there should be ashamed of themselves for wasting another elite year from Burrow.

Plenty to Prove

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

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)

Only three teams in this tier have a mathematical chance of making it to the playoffs. All three of them are in the NFC -- the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and New Orleans Saints. According to NFL.com, they all have less than a one percent chance. The rest of the teams here are hoping to get the best possible draft position that they can. There isn't a lot of good football being played from those squads at all. A lot of them, like the Chicago Bears, need to take a look in the mirror if they are ever going to fix it.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL Week 16 power rankings: Bills make a statement, Eagles prevail