NFL power rankings week 1

Mark Maske assesses the league’s top teams.

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1. Giants

They’re still the champs until someone knocks them off. But will they more closely resemble the team that went a modest 9-7 during the regular season last year and lost twice to the Redskins, or the version that got hot at the right time during the postseason?

Rich Schultz / Getty Images

2. Patriots

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady remain in pursuit of a fourth Super Bowl title in tandem, trying to bounce back from a second Super Bowl disappointment against the Giants.

Dave Martin / AP

3. Ravens

The would-be TD pass to Lee Evans that was knocked away and Billy Cundiff’s missed field goal late in the AFC title game in New England kept the Ravens from reaching the Super Bowl. But if Joe Flacco builds off his performance that day against the Patriots, the Ravens are fully capable of taking the next step this season.

Nick Wass / AP

4. Packers

It was no defense, no problem for the Packers last year during the regular season. But that approach failed to produce a second straight Super Bowl title, and the defense will have to do its share this season.

Tom Lynn / AP

5. Saints

Little went right for the Saints during an offseason dominated by the bounty scandal. But they seem to have emerged with an us-against-the-world mentality that they could use to their advantage this season, even with Sean Payton serving his year-long suspension.

Wade Payne / AP

6. Texans

If Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson can stay healthy and in the lineup, the Texans could be as good as anyone.

Gerald Herbert / AP

7. Bengals

They reached the playoffs with Andy Dalton starting at QB as a rookie, and he and A.J. Green should only get better.

John Bazemore / AP

8. Lions

The talent is certainly there if the polishing final touches are added to the mix.

Rick Osentoski / AP

9. 49ers

The Niners were the one team winning old-style last season, relying on their defense and running game. It will be interesting to see if that formula works for another season.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

10. Panthers

There has to be one out-on-a-limb selection in the preseason top 10. The Panthers are it, trying to make a big jump after going 6-10 last season in Cam Newton’s rookie year.

Bill Kostroun / AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 18: Jockey Gary Stevens rides Oxbow out to the front of the pack on the first straight away during the 138th Running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., on Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

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New York Yankees' Travis Hafner bats during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, May 12, 2013, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: Many seminary graduates are choosing not to become pastors. Rebecca J. Cole received her Master of Divinity and is becoming a community organizer on Capitol Hill. She hugs another graduate after the ceremony. The 2013 Commencement ceremony for Wesley Theological Seminary was held on May 13 at the Washington National Cathedral. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

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epa03704474 A Muslim woman at the ThetKalPyin temporary relief camp near Sittwe in Rakhine State, Western Myanmar, 17 May 2013. A total of 13 people were confirmed dead in neighboring Bangladesh as people began to return home from shelters, a day after Cyclone Mahasen hit the coast, officials said 17 May. EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 16: American Idol Season 12 Winner Candice Glover (C) is seen onstage during Fox's 'American Idol 2013' Finale Results Show at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on May 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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US actress Claire Julien smiles on May 16, 2013 while posing during a photocall for the film 'The Bling Ring' at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo credit should read ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Claire Julien, David Hasselhoff, Freida Pinto, Candice Glover, Martin Short and more.

**LOC IMAGE** Geo. Hamilton, Assistant Superintendent, Cambria Iron Mills house, Johnstown Flood, May 31st, 1889. (Photo by Ernest Walter Histed / Library of Congress)

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On May 31, 1889, the South Fork dam that held Lake Conemaugh failed, and 20 million tons of water descended upon Johnstown, Pa. The flood claimed the lives of 2,209 people and spurred...

HACIPASA, TURKEY - MAY 5: Syrian refugee Hala ponders her life on the run on Sunday, May 5, 2013, in Hacipasa, Turkey. Three times this morning, the sounds of aircrafts were followed by explosions that shook the ground. Hacipasa, which sits just across the river border from Syria, is home of several hundred Syrian refugees who have been displaced by their home country's conflict. For a year, Hala and her family have been displaced from their home village in Syria because of violent conflict. After bouncing from village to village, fleeing bombings that seemed to follow them, the family crossed into Turkey six weeks ago. Initially, the family was deported back into Syria, where they lived in camps for internally displaced Syrians. But when the camps were bombed, the family was allowed to cross into Turkey. Hala said, 'The blood of the people who died in Syria, the martyrs, is our sad song, but nobody is listening.' (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

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