NFL power rankings Week 14

Mark Maske assesses the league’s top teams.

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1. Patriots (10-3)

It's just like the old days, with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning competing for an MVP award and their teams vying for AFC and league-wide supremacy. Brady and the Patriots get the nod for now after their convincing Monday night triumph over the Texans.

Steven Senne / AP

2. Broncos (10-3)

The Broncos have the league's longest winning streak, at eight games, and suddenly they and the Patriots are on the heels of the Texans in the race for the AFC's top playoff seed.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

3. Packers (9-4)

Green Bay might be back in the familiar role of being the team to beat in the NFC, with the Falcons looking suddenly vulnerable.

Mike Roemer / AP

4. 49ers (9-3-1)

They're okay as long as they're not playing the Rams, it seems. They're unbeaten (and untied) against everyone else since mid-October.

Thearon W. Henderson / GETTY IMAGES

5. Texans (11-2)

So much for coasting to the top seed in the AFC postseason field. The Texans had better use the lopsided defeat Monday night at New England as a wakeup call.

Jim Rogash / GETTY IMAGES

6. Falcons (11-2)

A loss in Carolina? Really? Falcons skeptics have some serious supporting evidence for their doubts now.

Chuck Burton / AP

7. Seahawks (8-5)

Are they that good at this point? Or are the Cardinals just that bad? Probably a combination of the two.

Otto Greule Jr / GETTY IMAGES

8. Colts (9-4)

Andrew Luck isn't exactly making them forget Peyton Manning in Indy, but he certainly is making the transition feel seamless.

Jeff Roberson / AP

9. Ravens (9-4)

Joe Flacco's two-turnover second half during the overtime loss to the Redskins wasn't pretty. But ousting offensive coordinator Cam Cameron with a two-game lead in the division and three games left in the regular season was risky, to say the least.

Nick Wass / AP

10. Giants (8-5)

They've sandwiched two dominant performances - victoriess over the Packers and Saints - around the Monday night loss to the Redskins. But adding some consistency to the mix remains the issue. And the schedule isn't easy, with road games at Atlanta and Baltimore on tap. They keep the Redskins just out of the top 10 this week, in part because of the uncertain status of Robert Griffin III.

Evan Vucci / AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

epa03708924 Franziska (C) wears a helmet and carries a shield during the recreation of The Battle of the Teutoburg Museum in Bramsche, Germany, 20 May 2013. The everyday life of Romans and the Germanic people is depicted at Museum Park Kalkriese during the Romans and Germanic people days. EPA/Friso Gentsch

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Battle of Teutoburg Forest reenactment, Mars Curiosity rover drilling, massive tornado strikes Moore, Oklahoma and more.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

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Image made from video of tornado touching down near Oklahoma City. (KWTV/KOTV/AP)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
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Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

FILE - In this undated publicity file photo, members of the Doors, from left, John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison, pose for a portrait. Manzarek, the keyboardist who was a founding member of The Doors, has died at 74. Publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald says in a news release that Manzarek died Monday, May 20, 2013, at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family. (AP Photo, File)

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LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 19: Singer Taylor Swift accepts the award for 'Top Billboard 200 Album' onstage during the 2013 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 19, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The 2013 Billboard Music Awards red carpet and ceremony

Stars float down the red carpet in Las Vegas to make their way into a performance-filled awards ceremony featuring artists such as Prince, Justin...

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 20: Joanna Lumley poses during a photocall at the Chelsea Flower Show on May 20, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Joanna Lumley, Madonna, Prince, Tracy Morgan, Nicole Kidman, Justin Timberlake, Gene Simmons and more.

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