NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Reaction and Standings After Thursday Night Football

The Philadelphia Eagles started off Week 16 with a 24-19 upset of the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football.

It’s an ominous sign for playoff hopefuls, as the upset saw the Eagles dash the Giants’ playoff hopes for now, spoiling the team’s shot at a bid.

The unexpected result has a big impact on the power rankings. Here’s a look at the league standings after Thursday:

Thanks to the upset, Philadelphia removes itself from the bottom of the barrel after losing five in a row. Getting a few touchdowns from the offense and one by the defense will do that for a team searching for the reasons it all went wrong this season.

The Giants take a hit in the rankings, though it’s hard to knock the team too much. The Giants had not only won two in a row going into Thursday, but they also impressively swept the Dallas Cowboys.

Again, more than anything, the upset speaks to how crazy the final weeks of the season can be as underdogs look to play spoiler. Below, let’s take a look at a few teams with the most on the line in Week 16.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers can almost taste it.

After looking like a team destined to miss the playoffs and probably set to undergo big changes in the offseason, the Packers forgot all about four losses in a row and have rattled off four straight wins to climb to 8-6.

Now, the Packers hit Week 16 needing to take care of business against the Minnesota Vikings. Sounds easy, seeing as the Vikings have hit 7-7 after losing three of four and seven of nine.

These Vikings beat the Packers in Week 2, though, 17-14. In that game, the Green Bay defense let Sam Bradford toss two scores, while Aaron Rodgers suffered five …

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