NFL Week 15 Power Rankings: Packers, Chiefs emerge as the elite

It feels like every year the NFL season flies by, but it truly does feel like the NFL season flew by every year. Week 14 concluded on Monday night, and now each team has only three games left to play in the weirdest NFL season in recent memory. Here is where everyone stands.

Kansas City separates themselves from the pack

There was a brief moment in the first half where it seemed like the Miami Dolphins could upset the Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes threw two early interceptions — he had gone the whole season thus far without throwing any interceptions against a team other than the Oakland Raiders — and Miami took a 10-0 lead. Then came the storm.

The Chiefs erupted, scoring 30 points between the second and third quarters. They ran Miami off the field in a game that was not as competitive as the 33-27 score line would make it seem.

Kansas City is now in first place in the AFC. The once undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers dropped their second straight after losing to the Buffalo Bills on “Sunday Night Football,” and the 12-1 Chiefs look like they will coast to the lone playoff bye in the conference.

There has not been a repeat Super Bowl champion since the New England Patriots won two in a row in 2004 and 2005. No one looks like they can stop Kansas City, though, even on a day where their quarterback plays badly they can still blow teams out of the water. Who is going to knock out the Chiefs?

A new top dog in the NFC

Believe it or not, we somehow might be underrating Aaron Rodgers right now.

The quarterback has returned to his past greatness in 2020 after a few years where it looked like a shadow of his former, MVP-winning self. He went off once again in Week 14, this time victimizing the Detroit Lions with 290 yards and three touchdown passes on 33 pass attempts, leading the Green Bay Packers to a 31-24 victory over their division rivals.

Rodgers now has 39 touchdown passes on the season—leading the NFL—and has only thrown four interceptions. The most turnover-averse quarterback in the league could possibly throw for more than 50 touchdowns for the first time in his career in 2020. He’ll almost certainly break his career mark of 45.

Green Bay is positioned well as a team, too. The New Orleans Saints fell to the Philadelphia Eagles this week, opening the door for the Packers to claim the top seed in the NFC. If they avoid slipping up over the remaining three weeks, then the playoffs will run through Lambeau Field, one of the hardest stadiums to visit in general, and during the brutal cold of winter to top things off.