The 49ers’ convincing win over the Seahawks in Week 14 combined with the Eagles’ loss to the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football has put San Francisco firmly atop the USA TODAY Sports NFL power rankings.
They entered the week in the top spot, but the Cowboys 33-13 shellacking of the Eagles has helped cement San Francisco as the league’s best team. The 49ers in Week 5 put a 42-10 beatdown on Dallas. They also thumped the Eagles 42-19. Those two clubs apprise two of the top four teams in the rankings, and it looks like the 49ers are only just now hitting their stride.
The first team to clinch a playoff berth this season, they’ve won 11 straight against their NFC West “competition” − putting them on the brink of consecutive division titles for the first time in 11 years. Certainly helps when you have a quartet (RB Christian McCaffrey, TE George Kittle and WRs Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk) that can give you more than 500 yards from scrimmage on any given Sunday.
Injuries in all three levels of the defense could create an exploitable weakness in the 49ers down the stretch. When they’re fully healthy though there’s not a better team in football.
