NFL power rankings: Where 49ers sit after frustrating loss to Seahawks

NFL power rankings: Where 49ers sit after frustrating loss to Seahawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Ladies and gentlemen, the champs have been dethroned.

In these meaningless power rankings, that is. Unfortunately for the rest of the NFL, there still is a high likelihood the Kansas City Chiefs three-peat.

But we’re still a long ways away from that happening.

For now, let’s focus on discussing … the Jacksonville Jaguars! And the Tennessee Titans! And the Las Vegas Raiders! Isn’t that fun?

Not to worry, there still are plenty of good teams and exciting matchups worth recapping.

Here is where the 49ers sit after a frustrating 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and heading into “Monday Night Football.”

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 31)

Record: 2-9

Neither you nor I need to spend any time discussing this team. If we pretend they don’t exist, they might go away.

31. New York Giants (Last week: 32)

Record: 2-8 (Bye week)

Is this the last week we ever have to watch Daniel Jones play football? Hope so! Not holding my breath, though.

30. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 30)

Record: 2-8

Will Levis and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine connected on a 98-yard touchdown. That’s fun. There’s not much else worth mentioning, other than that the second-year quarterback continues to cement his role as a career backup.

29. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 29)

Record: 3-7 (Bye week)

Bryce Young is playing much better, and it helps he has the newly signed Chuba Hubbard to lean on. It’s unclear what the future holds for him, but he deserves to start the rest of the season.

28. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 28)

Record: 2-8

I’m fully expecting Brock Bowers to break every single rookie tight end record this season. Absolute star in the making.

27. New England Patriots (Last week: 27)

Record: 3-8

More competitive football from Drake Maye in a loss. It definitely seems like he’s the guy, and they’re doing everything they can to tank while establishing a good culture.

26. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 26)

Record: 2-8

A genuinely fun Jameis Winston game. That’s all you can ask for. Even with how bad Cleveland has been this season, their defense’s fall-off from last season is stunning.

25. New York Jets (Last week: 24)

Record: 3-8

Yup, definitely all Robert Saleh’s fault. You really dodged a bullet there. Good job, guys. What a humiliating season.

24. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 25)

Record: 3-6 (Monday Night Football)

Do yourselves and all of us a favor and play Trey Lance. I promise you, he is not worse than Cooper Rush.

23. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 23)

Record: 4-7

Don’t look now, but Derek Carr and the Saints are marching back toward … a .500 finish. They’re playing well, but it’s too little, too late.

22. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 18)

Record: 4-7

This wasn’t officially a must-win game for Joe Burrow and Co., but man, they really really really needed this one. The path to the playoffs is quite murky from here on out, but they do have a pretty favorable schedule down the stretch.

21. Chicago Bears (Last week: 20)

Record: 4-6

Oh no, Bears. This franchise has suffered enough from game-ending field goal chicanery. Against their arch rival, too. That hurts.

20. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 22)

Record: 4-6

Now, this is the Tua Tagovailoa-led Dolphins offense we know and love. Minus the speedy depth at running back, which is concerning.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 19)

Record: 4-6

Rest up, Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. Your second-half schedule is a cakewalk. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they won out.

18. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 21)

Record: 5-6

Anthony Richardson still can’t stop turning the ball over, but he definitely is playing better. A mid-season benching can work wonders for some young quarterbacks.

17. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 17)

Record: 5-5

There usually is a Geno Smith play or two that decides most Seahawks games. That was the case again this week, but it worked out in their favor. He was able to pull a rabbit out of a hat on Sunday and snap Seattle’s losing streak to San Francisco.

16. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 14)

Record: 5-5

I think 10 games is enough of a sample size to conclude this is an incredibly flawed team. Very talented roster be damned, the Super Bowl hangover is real. The best they can hope for is the division title and a home playoff game, because there’s zero shot they’re landing a top seed. If they’re even lucky enough to make the playoffs …

15. Los Angeles Rams (Last week: 16)

Record: 5-5

The potential of the Rams’ offense was on full display. Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are the second-best receiver tandem in the league behind Cincy’s duo.

14. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 12)

Record: 6-5

What once appeared to be Atlanta’s division to lose will be a dogfight down the stretch. It’s been an inconsistent few weeks for Kirk Cousins and the offense.

13. Denver Broncos (Last week: 15)

Record: 6-5

At this moment, Bo Nix is playing the best football of any rookie quarterback in the league. Also, some of the best football of any quarterback period. I’m a full Bo-liever now.

12. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 13)

Record: 6-4 (Bye week)

They won’t be leading the division for much longer, in my opinion, but it’s hard to deny they’re playing good football right now. I’d like to see some consistency before fully buying in.

11. Houston Texans (Last week: 11)

Record: 6-4 (Monday Night Football)

Heartbreaking loss last week, but fortunately for Houston, they have arguably the most dysfunctional organization in the league up next. This should be a win, and one that might not be particularly close.

10. Washington Commanders (Last week: 8)

Record: 7-4

Jayden Daniels has fallen on hard times. The league appears to be figuring him out. That’s normal, but it’s clear Washington might not be quite the wagon it appeared to be in the first half of the season.

9. Los Angeles Chargers (Last week: 10)

Record: 7-3

The Jim Harbaugh bump is real, folks. They almost Charger’ed that game away. Coaching matters. They’re probably a star offensive playmaker away from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but man, they’re playing great football right now and definitely could make some noise in the playoffs.

8. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 9)

Record: 7-3

A modest, yet fairly efficient game from Jordan Love and the offense, who had to be bailed out by the special teams to sneak out an emotional win over a division rival.

7. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 5)

Record: 7-4

Lamar Jackson, meet the Steelers defense. Don’t worry, they do that to just about everyone. Flush it and get ready for another good defense next week.

6. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 7)

Record: 8-2

A decent, bounce-back game from Sam Darnold, and the defense continued to suffocate. That’s the formula. There have some tough divisional matchups ahead, though. Can they hang on to the division lead?

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 6)

Record: 8-2

Defense wins championships, as they say. I don’t think that’s in the cards for this team, but if you can survive a Russell Wilson stinker against the Ravens, you have a special, special group.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 4)

Record: 8-2

Saquon Barkley can carry them straight to the NFC Championship Game, where they very well could punch their ticket back to the Super Bowl. That is, if Jake Elliott can make kicks …

3. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 3)

Record: 9-2

If there was anyone who would hand the defending champs their first loss, of course, it would be Josh Allen. They also secured a potentially massive playoff tiebreaker while doing so.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 1)

Record: 9-1

At long last, it’s over. They’ve escaped far too many ugly games with wins this season. They couldn’t keep getting away with it. Truth be told, I’ve been wanting to move them down for a while, but I respected the streak too much. This is where they belong. Still, not too shabby.

1. Detroit Lions (Last week: 2)

Record: 9-1

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new top dog. They brutally humiliated arguably the worst team in the NFL, but Jared Goff was nearly flawless after his five-pick game.

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