NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Bears on Rise While Cowboys & Patriots Fall

The AFC playoff race is closer than before Week 15 started, while several NFC teams squandered opportunities to clinch playoff berths. With several top teams losing, there are plenty of shakeups in our NFL power rankings.

Week 15 is almost in the books which means there are just two more weeks until the regular season concludes and the playoff matchups are set. The Chargers and Chiefs got things started off with a thriller. The Chargers opted to go for two to win the game, and the gamble paid off as Mike Williams was wide open in the end zone.

“They busted [coverage],” Rivers told Chargers.com. “We had Travis [Benjamin] over there with [Mike Williams]. We motioned Travis and so then we had to communicate that they’re playing man coverage, and then had to communicate that they had two coming out and one coming in. It was the same play we ran when Mike had his first touchdown. We just dressed it up a bit.”

L.A.'s comeback victory means the two teams are tied atop the AFC West. The team that finishes second will not only miss out on one of the top two seeds but will end up playing on the road during Wild Card weekend. There is still plenty to be decided in the NFL playoff picture over the next two weeks.


The Rams Struggles Continue in December

It is hard to say a team with 11 wins is struggling, but the Rams have not played well in December. The once potent offense has not looked the same as the unit we saw at the beginning of the season. The Rams put up just six points against the Bears and once again struggled against the Eagles for much of the game.

Some thought the Rams' Week 14 struggles had to do with the climate, but they did not look much better back home in Los Angeles. The Rams still have a chance to secure one of the top two seeds in the NFC, but the team needs to get things figured out before the postseason if they hope to have any success when they get there.


Mitch Trubisky's Blinking Christmas Sweater Captures the Current Mood in Chicago

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky asked the press if they preferred the Christmas lights on his sweater to be on or off. Trubisky's sweater was not the only thing shining brightly in Chicago this weekend as the Bears clinched their first playoff berth since the 2010 season. After the big victory, Trubisky noted the achievement is not a surprise to the Bears locker room even though they outperformed most people's preseason expectations.

“We know that nobody really believed in us on the outside in the preseason or even throughout the season,” Trubisky explained to the Chicago Sun-Times. “But we knew what type of team we had...When we go through adversity, we just become closer together. We make sure that it makes us better. That’s what we have done all season long.”

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