Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season is nearly in the rearview. The Buffalo Bills snuck away with a key divisional victory over the New England Patriots, the Los Angeles Chargers eliminated the Kansas City Chiefs from the postseason, and Philip Rivers made his return to the NFL in the Indianapolis Colts’ showdown against the Seattle Seahawks.
These games, among others, led to movement in our PFSN power rankings this week compared to last. Here’s how the NFL is shaping up entering Week 16, according to our metrics system.
Please note that these rankings are decided entirely by PFSN’s analytical model, rather than the author’s opinion of the teams.
32) Las Vegas Raiders
- Last Week’s Ranking: 32
- Eliminated from playoff contention
- Chance for 1st overall pick: 32.5%
As one could’ve expected by simply looking at each team’s record going into the game, the Las Vegas Raiders got pummeled by the Eagles on Sunday. The 31-0 loss marked the Raiders’ eighth loss in a row, as well as the second time they’ve been shut out in a game in the 2025 NFL season.
31) Tennessee Titans
- Last Week’s Ranking: 31
- Eliminated from playoff contention
- Chance for 1st overall pick: 15.0%
Few expected the Tennessee Titans to march into San Francisco and upset the 49ers on Sunday. They didn’t, but scoring 24 points against a likely playoff team is a nice silver lining to take away from the Week 15 loss.
Pollard plows into the end zone! @Tp__5
📺: #TENvsSF on @NFLonFOX & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/vPIydr5l6k
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 15, 2025
After breaking their seven-game losing streak last week against the Browns, the Titans went right back to their losing ways against San Francisco. It will be interesting to see how they finish up the year and if they end up with the first pick in the NFL Draft for the second year in a row.
30) New York Jets
- Last Week’s Ranking: 30
- Eliminated from playoff contention
- Chance for 1st overall pick: 5.1%
It’s been a rough season for the New York Jets, and that continued with their 48-20 loss to the Jaguars. The loss dropped them to 3-11 for the 2025 NFL season, sending their season further into disappointing territory.
Undrafted rookie Brady Cook stepped into a starting role with Tyrod Taylor injured. He threw for 176 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw three interceptions in the loss. That, combined with the Jets’ porous defense, played a major role in the defeat.
29) Cleveland Browns
- Last Week’s Ranking: 27
- Eliminated from playoff contention
- Chance for 1st overall pick: 11.2%
The Cleveland Browns lost last week against the Titans, but there was plenty of encouragement among the fanbase after a strong outing by Shedeur Sanders. That was not replicated in Week 15, when he threw three interceptions in a blowout loss to the Bears on Sunday.
This season is a lost cause for the Browns, but they have something to look forward to in the form of Myles Garrett’s pursuit of the single-season NFL sack record. With 1.5 sacks on Sunday, he’s now just one sack away from tying the all-time mark.
28) New Orleans Saints
- Last Week’s Ranking: 29
- Eliminated from playoff contention
- Chance for 1st overall pick: 0.2%
While the New Orleans Saints are eliminated from playoff contention, they have a lot to be excited about. They’re now on a two-game winning streak after upsetting the Panthers on Sunday, and they’re 3-2 in their last five matchups with Tyler Shough at quarterback.
The Saints are a long way from being an elite NFL team. That said, they’ve shown some improvement in recent weeks, and Shough has put together some encouraging flashes recently. That bodes well for their future, and as a rebuilding team, that’s all you can ask for.
27) New York Giants
- Last Week’s Ranking: 28
- Eliminated from playoff contention
- Chance for 1st overall pick: 35.3%
The New York Giants entered their Week 15 matchup against the Commanders with a second-game losing streak, and their opponents entered with an eight-game losing streak. One of those streaks could come to an end on Sunday, and unfortunately for the Giants, it wasn’t theirs.
New York has now lost each of their last eight games, though five of those losses have come by one score. They’re good enough to compete, but their roster is still a ways away before they can be a contender for anything other than the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
26) Cincinnati Bengals
- Last Week’s Ranking: 19
- Eliminated from playoff contention
The return of Joe Burrow to the starting lineup wasn’t enough to propel the Cincinnati Bengals to a win over the Ravens on Sunday. It wasn’t even enough to put any points on the board, as their star passer threw two interceptions with no touchdowns in a shutout loss.
With their loss in Week 15, the Bengals are now eliminated from playoff contention. Their hope now is to head into the 2026 NFL offseason with Burrow healthy and to see encouraging play out of their younger, ascending talents.
25) Arizona Cardinals
- Last Week’s Ranking: 26
- Eliminated from playoff contention
- Chance for 1st overall pick: 0.5%
Jacoby Brissett had a respectable outing on Sunday, throwing for 249 yards and three touchdowns for the Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately for them, the defense couldn’t match that level of play, resulting in a 40-20 loss to the Texans.
With this latest loss, the Cardinals are now 3-11 and have lost each of their last six games. They’ve given up over 40 points in four of those games, which is a brutal indicator of the job that head coach Jonathan Gannon, who comes from a defensive coordinator background, is doing.
24) Washington Commanders
- Last Week’s Ranking: 25
- Eliminated from playoff contention
2025 has been about as disappointing a season as you could script for the Washington Commanders, but they can take solace in knowing their eight-game losing streak is now over. They came out of Week 15 with a 29-21 victory over the Giants.
Most notably, the Commanders ended their losing streak thanks to a 19-point second quarter outing. A punt return for a touchdown by rookie Jaylin Lane and multiple strong drives by Washington’s offense put an end to their miserable stretch of recent games.
23) Carolina Panthers
- Last Week’s Ranking: 24
- Playoff Odds: 33.0%
Going into Sunday, the Carolina Panthers were in first place in the NFC South. They had a strong chance to improve their standing in the division with a win over the last-place Saints. Instead, New Orleans pulled off the upset, and the Panthers fell to 7-7 and, most importantly, back to second place.
READ MORE: 2026 3-Round NFL Mock Draft: Browns Build Around Shedeur Sanders, While 4 Ohio State Stars Go Early
Carolina remains arguably the most puzzling team in the NFL. They’ve defeated top teams like the Rams and Packers, but they’ve lost to the Saints twice. They remain competitive in the NFC South out of the division’s weakness, as they’d be practically out of the running for first place in all of the other seven divisions.
22) Kansas City Chiefs
- Last Week’s Ranking: 10
- Eliminated from playoff contention
For the first time since 2014, the Kansas City Chiefs will miss the NFL playoffs. Their season ended in crushing fashion, as they fell to the Chargers 16-13 in front of their home crowd, eliminating them from postseason contention. Perhaps even worse, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL.
PFSN’s analytical model has favored the Chiefs for their competitiveness against a tough strength of schedule and dominance against weaker opponents. Still, the NFL standings don’t run by those same criteria. Simply put, they were unable to finish in close games against talented teams far too many times this year.
21) Miami Dolphins
- Last Week’s Ranking: 20
- Eliminated from playoff contention
They entered Monday night with an 0.3% chance to make the playoffs, but the Miami Dolphins were officially eliminated from postseason with their 28-15 loss to the Steelers. With the loss, their four-game winning streak came to an end, dropping them down to a 6-8 record.
Though they deserve credit for bouncing back down the stretch in November and December, the Dolphins’ slow start to 2025 ultimately doomed their chances to make the playoffs. Time will tell if their late-season improvement will be enough to save Mike McDaniel’s job as their head coach.
20) Atlanta Falcons
- Last Week’s Ranking: 23
- Eliminated from playoff contention
Though the Atlanta Falcons are eliminated from playoff contention, that doesn’t mean they can’t still make some noise in the NFC postseason race. That was made apparent when they came back from behind to upset the Buccaneers 29-28, knocking the latter out of first place in the NFC South.
Their five-game losing streak earlier in the year doomed them, but they’ve bounced back a bit with two wins in their last four games. Now at 5-9, there’s a chance for them to stack up some more wins before the end of the season.
19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Last Week’s Ranking: 21
- Playoff Odds: 67.3%
Having lost five of their last six games, the second half of the season has been a disaster for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They got upset by the Falcons in a 29-28 showdown on Thursday night, dropping them to 7-7 and knocking them out of first place in the NFC South.
Their red-hot start to 2025 showed that the Buccaneers have plenty of talent on their roster, but they’ve fallen off significantly since then. Their two remaining matchups with the Panthers will likely determine who wins the division.
18) Baltimore Ravens
- Last Week’s Ranking: 22
- Playoff Odds: 36.1%
After two consecutive losses in divisional play, things were looking bleak for the Baltimore Ravens going into Week 15. They were able to turn things around before it was too late, however, as they emphatically shut down the Bengals in a 24-0 rout to improve to 7-7.
Baltimore has a difficult remaining schedule, as its final three games feature matchups against the Patriots, Packers, and Steelers. They’ll likely need an upset in one of the next two matchups to stay in the playoff race, and even then, it could come down to their Week 18 game in Pittsburgh to decide who wins the division.
17) Indianapolis Colts
- Last Week’s Ranking: 16
- Playoff Odds: 18.7%
The return of Philip Rivers at 44 years old marked arguably the most entertaining storyline of not just Week 15, but arguably the whole 2025 NFL season. That said, the Indianapolis Colts came up just short with him at the helm, losing 18-16 to the Seahawks off a late field goal.
Philip Rivers nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the year against one of the best defenses.. respect 🤝
— Chris from Massachusetts AKA TommyboyTrader (@autumnsdad1) December 15, 2025
Indianapolis deserves credit for playing hard against one of the best teams in the NFL, going on the road, and keeping the game close with a quarterback who hadn’t played a single game since 2020. That said, their current four-game losing streak has significantly hurt their playoff chances.
16) Dallas Cowboys
- Last Week’s Ranking: 15
- Playoff Odds: 1.3%
Due to movement around them in the mid-teens, the Dallas Cowboys actually end up moving up a spot going into Week 16. However, they come away as one of the bigger losers of Week 15, seeing as though they lost at home to the Vikings to drop to 6-7-1 for the 2025 NFL season.
With the loss, the Cowboys face a much steeper hill to climb in order to make it into the postseason. They faced steep odds to win out and pass up the Eagles in the NFC East, anyway, but their loss further complicates things for the remainder of the year.
15) Minnesota Vikings
- Last Week’s Ranking: 18
- Eliminated from playoff contention
The Minnesota Vikings might no longer be in playoff contention after the Bears’ win over the Browns, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by how hard they competed on Sunday night. They rallied for 34 points in their eight-point win over the Cowboys, significantly impacting their opponent’s playoff chances.
If Minnesota wins their three remaining games, they’ll have a chance to finish the 2025 NFL season with a record above .500. Beating all of the Giants, Lions, and Packers could be difficult, but their two recent wins and J.J. McCarthy’s improved play gives the Vikings more to be excited about going into the offseason.
14) Pittsburgh Steelers
- Last Week’s Ranking: 17
- Playoff Odds: 64.1%
After winning two games in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting pretty atop the AFC North with an 8-6 record. They handily defeated the Dolphins 28-15 on Monday night, with Kenneth Gainwell going off for over 120 scrimmage yards.
With three games left in the 2025 regular season, the Steelers are just one game away from Mike Tomlin picking up his 19th-consecutive winning season. They don’t appear to have the offensive firepower to push for a Super Bowl spot, but they project as the firm favorites to win their division.
13) Los Angeles Chargers
- Last Week’s Ranking: 14
- Playoff Odds: 93.0%
The Los Angeles Chargers can probably take a massive sigh of relief after their 16-13 win over the Chiefs on Sunday. Though they haven’t clinched an AFC playoff spot quite yet, improving to 10-4 gives them more cushion in their current Wild Card positioning.
Perhaps most encouraging from the Chargers’ win was just how good their pass rush looked. Khalil Mack contributed a sack, and both Odafe Oweh and Tuli Tuipulotu came away with two sacks each. That level of pressure up front should help them in big games if they make the playoffs.
12) San Francisco 49ers
- Last Week’s Ranking: 13
- Playoff Odds: 98.0%
Now sitting with a 10-4 record after their 37-24 win over the Titans, the San Francisco 49ers find themselves with a little bit of a cushion in their current projected Wild Card spot. The win on Sunday marked their fourth straight victory.
Upcoming matchups against the Colts, Bears, and Seahawks are must-watch matchups that could impact the 49ers’ playoff hopes. A win against Chicago would be particularly helpful for their Wild Card chances. That said, they’ve given themselves some leeway with how well they’ve played in recent weeks.
11) New England Patriots
- Last Week’s Ranking: 9
- Playoff Odds: 99.9%
The New England Patriots may still be in first place in the AFC East, but their lead decreased slightly after their loss to the Bills. The 35-31 defeat marked the end of their stellar ten-game winning streak this season.
Luckily for the Patriots, they have an easy remaining schedule to get back on track. Their final three games of the 2025 NFL regular season are against the Ravens, Jets, and Dolphins; if they take care of business in those matchups, they’ll still win their division.
10) Detroit Lions
- Last Week’s Ranking: 6
- Playoff Odds: 22.7%
The Detroit Lions should not be happy with the result of their Week 15 matchup. They played tough against a Rams team that’s one of the best in the NFL, but they gave up 41 points and dropped to 8-6, putting them behind in a loaded Wild Card race.
Detroit’s passing attack was on fire against Los Angeles on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the struggles of their defense. They’ll need their defense to step it up, because they’ll likely have to win out their remaining games against the Steelers, Vikings, and Bears to make the playoffs.
9) Philadelphia Eagles
- Last Week’s Ranking: 11
- Playoff Odds: 98.7%
Having lost each of their last three games before Week 15, the Philadelphia Eagles had a perfect opportunity for a bounce-back game with their matchup against the Raiders on Sunday. They did exactly that, winning 31-0 and improving their record to 9-5.
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Philadelphia’s defense utterly dominated the Raiders, allowing just 75 total yards in the shutout win. Jalen Hurts bounced back with three touchdowns and no interceptions, giving his team the spark they needed to avoid giving up more of their gap atop the NFC East.
8) Green Bay Packers
- Last Week’s Ranking: 5
- Playoff Odds: 89.4%
The Green Bay Packers are still a 9-4-1 team that played an 11-2 team close in one of the most difficult environments for a road team to play in the NFL, but their loss to the Broncos sees them drop a few spots.
With the loss, the Packers now fall back behind the Bears for first place in the NFC North. They’ll have a chance to regain that spot if they go on the road and beat Chicago in Week 16, as they did at home in Week 14. They’ll have to do so without star edge rusher Micah Parsons, though, as he suffered a torn ACL in the Denver matchup.
7) Chicago Bears
- Last Week’s Ranking: 12
- Playoff Odds: 88.1%
Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Packers last week, the Chicago Bears needed a bounce-back game against the Browns. They were able to do precisely that in Week 15, winning 31-3 to improve their season record to 10-4.
The Bears still have work to do if they want to secure a playoff spot in the competitive NFC this year, but a win this week is a massive step in the right direction. Their win over Cleveland marks the first time they’ve had double-digit wins in a single season since 2018.
6) Buffalo Bills
- Last Week’s Ranking: 7
- Playoff Odds: 98.5%
They’re still in second place in the AFC East, but the Buffalo Bills made significant progress towards closing that gap with their 35-31 victory over the Patriots on Sunday. The win saw them bump their record to 10-4 for the 2025 NFL season.
With the win, the Bills have clinched a double-digit win season for their seventh year in a row. Josh Allen further strengthened his case to repeat as the NFL’s MVP, having outplayed Drake Maye by throwing for three touchdowns and no interceptions in the victory.
5) Jacksonville Jaguars
- Last Week’s Ranking: 8
- Playoff Odds: 96.8%
For much of the 2025 NFL season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have been able to stack up wins despite the poor play of their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. This week, they won because of their quarterback.
The No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft threw for 330 yards, ran for 51 yards on five carries, and scored six total touchdowns in the Jaguars’ 48-20 win over the Jets. If Lawrence can keep stacking up strong performances as he did against New York, they’ll be dangerous in the playoff race.
4) Houston Texans
- Last Week’s Ranking: 4
- Playoff Odds: 92.6%
Few teams, if any, in the NFL are as hot as the Houston Texans are right now. It’s been the defense that’s led them to many of their wins this year, but on Sunday, their offense stepped up. They came away from Week 15 with a 40-20 victory over the Cardinals to improve to 9-5.
The AFC South is highly competitive this year, but the Texans are working hard to remain in competition for a playoff spot. With their blowout win over Arizona, they cemented themselves firmly as Wild Card favorites with the potential to come from behind and surpass the Jaguars in first place.
3) Denver Broncos
- Last Week’s Ranking: 3
- Playoff appearance clinched
The longest winning streak in the NFL remains intact. The Denver Broncos won their 11th game in a row on Sunday, defeating the Packers 34-26 to improve to a stellar 12-2 record and clinch a spot in this year’s postseason.
As of this writing, the Broncos have an undefeated 7-0 record at home, and they could finish the year with a perfect record in Denver if they beat the Jaguars and Chargers in the coming weeks. They’re currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and home-field advantage for a team that’s dominant on its home turf would be bad news for everyone else.
2) Seattle Seahawks
- Last Week’s Ranking: 2
- Playoff Odds: 98.8%
They experienced a little bit of a scare against the Philip Rivers-led Colts, but the Seattle Seahawks marched down the field for a quick field goal to secure the 18-16 victory in Week 15. The win marks their fourth straight victory and improves their season record to 11-3.
It’s practically a foregone conclusion that the Seahawks will make the playoffs this year. Week 16 will be a huge test for them, as their matchup against the Rams could determine whether they make the postseason as a Wild Card team or as NFC West champions.
1) Los Angeles Rams
- Last Week’s Ranking: 1
- Playoff appearance clinched
The Los Angeles Rams clinched a playoff appearance on Sunday, making them one of the first two teams to secure spots in the 2025-26 NFL postseason. They came away from Week 15 with an explosive 41-34 victory over a talented Lions team.
Matthew Stafford further solidified himself as an NFL MVP candidate by throwing for 368 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams’ second win in a row, in which they’ve scored over 40 points. With the level their offense is performing at, they’ll be tough to stop in the postseason this year.