Welcome to Gridiron’s Week 16 power ranking where the (pre-Turkey) pecking order continues to contain more surprises than Santa’s sack.

GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 16

1. Buffalo Bills (11-3) +1

With victories over the Chiefs and Lions on their resumé, the Bills look every inch the best team in the NFL with Josh Allen continuing to amaze on a weekly basis. Right now, it’s difficult to look past them as the team most likely to be hoisting the Lombardi in February.

2. Detroit Lions (12-2) -1

The Lions did not go without a substantial fight against Buffalo, and for that they deserve great credit. But with running David Montgomery out for the season and Detroit losing Alim McNeill from a defense that looks ever more vulnerable, Dan Campbell’s men are taking on a level of damage that may be impossible to overcome in the postseason.

3. Minnesota Vikings (12-2) =

After sweeping aside the Bears, the Vikings face a gauntlet with games against the Seahawks, Packers and Lions that will determine whether they will have home advantage at any point in the playoffs. Given current form, it’s tough to bet against Minnesota running the table and clinching the #1 seed.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (13-1) =

Patrick Mahomes again avoided a serious ankle injury and should remain at the helm but, aside from a defense that should travel in the playoffs as it did last season, there is little to inspire confidence in the Chiefs replicating their playoff heroics of the 2023 campaign.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) =

The Eagles won a testy battle of Pennsylvania against the Steelers last weekend. Prevail in an NFC East battle with the Commanders on the road, and they’ll be division champions — with a substantially improved resumé as a genuine contender to go all the way. They’ll also be higher in this list.

6. Green Bay Packers (10-4) +1

Green Bay emphatically kicked the Seahawks into the category of pretenders with their decisive win in Seattle. In doing so, they demonstrated just how dangerous they can be when firing on all cylinders. They may not win the NFC North, but they won’t be daunted one bit by going on the road in the postseason.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) -1

The Steelers ultimately couldn’t hang with an Eagles team that is a level below the class of the AFC. As such, it’s difficult to envisage Pittsburgh hanging with the likes of the Bills and Chiefs. Until they prove otherwise, the Steelers shouldn’t be viewed as serious candidates to win it all.

8. Baltimore Ravens (9-5) +2

The Ravens swept aside the Giants with a minimum of fuss coming off the bye. Now the challenge is to demonstrate they are a force to be reckoned with by avenging their earlier loss to the Steelers and moving level with Pittsburgh in division. It’s a remarkable thing to write considering his Hall of Fame career, but their odds will be better if they don’t have to rely on Justin Tucker as much.

9. Denver Broncos (9-5) +2

Denver received plenty of help from the Colts in another display of how drastic the Broncos turnaround has been. They shouldn’t expect the Chargers to be so charitable in primetime on Thursday but, if the Broncos can contain Justin Herbert and Co and knock off Los Angeles, they’ll be back in the playoffs for the first time since their Super Bowl-winning season of 2015. On top of that, plenty of teams have reason to be wary of them.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) +2

If the Broncos are looking for a blueprint as to how to deal with the Chargers, they need look no further than SoFi Stadium last Sunday. With Baker Mayfield suddenly looking in the kind of form that saw the Buccaneers surge to the Divisional Round last year, and the Falcons appearing ill-equipped to claim the NFC South title, the Super Bowl 55 champions could be hosting a home playoff game for the fourth successive year.