The San Francisco 49ers 16-6 Thanksgiving loss to the Baltimore Ravens leaves the team at 9-2 heading into week 13. They can clinch the NFC West with a victory over the St. Louis Rams or losses/ties by Arizona and Seattle. However, given the 49ers quick run to the front of the division, most fans are more concerned at this point with how they measure up to the rest of the league come playoff time.
The 49ers still have plenty of work in front of them, but as we get ready for new NFL power rankings tomorrow, I'm curious how folks rank the 49ers compared to the rest of the league. Entering this past week, I ranked them second, with a top ten as follows:
1. Green Bay Packers
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. New England Patriots
6. Chicago Bears
7. Baltimore Ravens
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Detroit Lions
10. New York Giants
Let's say for argument's sake that the Saints beat the Giants. The Steelers squeaked out a tight victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and the Patriots had no trouble with the Eagles. The Bears lost to the Raiders and are going in the wrong direction without Jay Cutler, while the Falcons handled their business against Minnesota.
Power rankings don't tell us a whole lot, but they do help us focus the debate over a team's standing versus the rest of the league. I will probably drop the 49ers behind the Ravens, but at the same time, I think on a neutral field with a full practice week (or even two weeks in the case of a Super Bowl), the 49ers match up incredibly well with the Ravens. However, for now, they played a solid Ravens squad and lost to them. I wouldn't necessarily move a lower rated Ravens squad past them, but based on this, I think Baltimore gets a bump.
How do you see the 49ers compared to the rest of the league through 11 weeks? If you want to post some top ten power rankings, or just discuss the team in a broader context, go to town.