The power rankings this week seem to reflect some different interpretations of the 49ers loss in Indianapolis. Some folks view it as one of those proverbial moral victories and actually moved the 49ers up in their rankings. Some dropped the 49ers approximately two spots, with CBS Sports being the only one top them further (4 spots). I realize power rankings are subjective, but it's still interesting to see the varying opinions on our favorite team. It's safe to say there's no clear cut opinion on the team.
SB Nation has been running power rankings the last few weeks. Sometimes they appear after this post and thus I haven't included them. They were just posted earlier today with the 49ers ranked 19th, which is just a shade under the average of 18.77 seen in our composite rankings.
ESPN - #19 (20) - Opening up the offense could be tougher with left tackle Joe Staley on the injured list for six weeks.
- Arizona - #13 (10)
- Seattle - #24 (23)
- St. Louis - #30 (32)
The Big Lead - #19 (17) - Were the Niners pulling a Patriots and instructing their defensive players to fake cramps to slow down the Colts’ offense? Maybe. Maybe not. Even if they were, it’s called gamesmanship and more teams should give it a shot, if not hire Willie McGinest as a consultant.
- Arizona - #16 (11)
- Seattle - #24 (23)
- St. Louis - #27 (30)
Fox Sports - #19 (17) - Doing just enough to lose must be getting old to Mike Singletary, which is a shame because there is no shame in losing by four points at Indy while holding Peyton Manning's Colts to just one offensive TD.
- Arizona - #17 (9)
- Seattle - #21 (22)
- St. Louis - #30 (31)
CBS Sports - #22 (18) - Playing close isn't good enough. They have to start winning those kinds of games. It's hard when they're limited on offense.
- Arizona - #11 (12)
- Seattle - #24 (23)
- St. Louis - #28 (31)
Pro Football Talk (via NBCSports.com) - #20 (18) - Only the coach of a team in the NFC West could guarantee a playoff berth in November with a sub-.500 record.
- Arizona - #15 (12)
- Seattle - #24 (23)
- St. Louis - #30 (31)
NFL.com (Brandt) - #21 (19)
- Arizona - #13 (9)
- Seattle - #24 (24)
- St. Louis - #28 (31)
NFL.com (Brooks) - #20 (18)
- Arizona - #11 (10)
- Seattle - #25 (22)
- St. Louis - #26 (32)
NFL.com (Carucci) - #18 (20)
- Arizona - #14 (7)
- Seattle - #25 (21)
- St. Louis - #26 (31)
WhatIfSports.com - #11 (14)
- Arizona - #18 (7)
- Seattle - #24 (23)
- St. Louis - #25 (26)
Average 49ers Ranking: 18.78 (18.11)
Average Cardinals Ranking: 14.22 (9.33)
Average Seahawks Ranking: 23.56 (22.67)
Average Rams Ranking: 28.00 (30.56)