NFL Power Rankings: Where Each Team Stands Following Ravens vs. Broncos

Any time the reigning Super Bowl champion faces one of the league's top teams, the result is sure to shake up the NFL power rankings. That's exactly what happened in the Denver Broncos' 49-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the 2013 regular-season opener on Thursday night. 

While Peyton Manning's team went in as the favorites to win at home and Baltimore's offseason departures were well documented, Thursday's result still revealed some new weapons for each team and proved what they are capable of moving forward.

Let's take a look at the NFL power rankings after Denver's win.

Rank	Team	Week 1 Opponent
1	San Francisco 49ers	Green Bay
2	Denver Broncos	Baltimore (W)
3	Seattle Seahawks	Carolina
4	Atlanta Falcons	New Orleans
5	Green Bay Packers	San Francisco
6	New England Patriots	Buffalo
7	Houston Texans	San Diego
8	Cincinnati Bengals	Chicago
9	Baltimore Ravens	Denver (L)
10	Chicago Bears	Cincinnati
11	New Orleans Saints	Atlanta
12	Washington Redskins	Philadelphia
13	St. Louis Rams	Arizona
14	Pittsburgh Steelers	Tennessee
15	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants
16	Indianapolis Colts	Oakland
17	New York Giants	Dallas
18	Detroit Lions	Minnesota
19	Minnesota Vikings	Detroit
20	Kansas City Chiefs	Jacksonville
21	Arizona Cardinals	St. Louis
22	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	New York Jets
23	Miami Dolphins	Cleveland
24	Carolina Panthers	Seattle
25	Philadelphia Eagles	Washington
26	Tennessee Titans	Pittsburgh
27	Buffalo Bills	New England
28	Cleveland Browns	Miami
29	San Diego Chargers	Houston
30	Jacksonville Jaguars	Kansas City
31	New York Jets	Tampa Bay
32	Oakland Raiders	Indianapolis

Schedule information courtesy of ESPN

Broncos' Flaws Prevent Them From Overtaking 49ers

There's no doubt that the historic performance from Peyton Manning and the Broncos helped them to gain ground on the San Francisco 49ers for the top spot, but there's more to prove for the defense and special teams.

San Francisco's defense is head and shoulders above Denver's unit as of now, and until the Broncos can bridge the gap just enough, the 49ers will stay on top. 

If Manning plays like he did Thursday, Denver might not lose a game all season—but assuming that seven-touchdown performances aren't the norm, the Broncos still have some issues to work out.

Experienced punt returner Wes Welker dropped an easy kick that he shouldn't have fielded at his own 4-yard line, quickly leading to a Baltimore touchdown. Just as well, linebacker Danny Trevathan's goal-line gaffe could've cost the Broncos the game, had it come at a less ideal time.

The secondary still let up 362 yards through the air by Joe Flacco, though the Denver pass rush looked dominant, with four sacks, despite Von Miller's absence and the departure of Elvis Dumervil—who had a sack of his own for Baltimore. 

If Manning stays ridiculously efficient—there's no reason at all to think he won't—and the Broncos prove that their secondary won't give up big games, they'll overtake San Francisco in no time.

Ravens Slip 1 Spot to 9th

Baltimore's defense was carved up in the second half by Manning, but his other-worldly performance makes you wonder how much the Ravens really were to blame.

The four-time MVP couldn't miss and clearly looked better than he ever has in his 15-year career. And it won't be very often—or ever—that the Ravens face that hot of a quarterback again.

Plus, the Ravens won the first half, 17-14, and stifled Denver's drives for much of that half. 

Joe Flacco still had a solid game—362 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions—but Baltimore couldn't get the ground game going and had to completely abandon it when Manning started clicking with his receivers early in the third quarter. 

The loss was enough to drop Baltimore below Cincinnati in the power rankings, but that's ground that the Ravens will easily make up if the reigning champs focus on their positives from Thursday night and bounce back.