Week 14 NFL power rankings have been coming out today and the 49ers remain locked in that group right behind the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are the clear-cut number one when it comes to weekly power rankings. After the Packers, I think there is a group of teams bunched up that includes the 49ers, Ravens, Steelers, Saints and Patriots. The Texans are there as well to a certain extent, but I still am not sure what to think about them as they try and make things work with T.J. Yates and potentially Jake Delhomme.
I put together my weekly power rankings at SB Nation Bay Area and have the 49ers ranked fifth. Here is how I have that group sorted out, with the 49ers moving up a notch:
1. Green Bay Packers
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Baltimore Ravens
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. San Francisco 49ers
6. New England Patriots
7. Houston Texans
You could come up with a lot of different orders for the second through seventh teams and make a good argument. You can't really put Pittsburgh ahead of Baltimore, but other than that, I would argue just about anything flies. If you wanted to put San Francisco ahead of Baltimore and New England ahead of Pittsburgh, in spite of their respective losses, I think you could come up with a sufficient justification for it.
When it comes to the 49ers, I do have them lower than other folks:
ESPN NFL Power Rankings: #3
CBS Sports NFL Power Rankings: #3
SB Nation NFL Power Rankings: #4
FOX Sports NFL Power Rankings: #4
Given how close I think that pack of teams is, you could view them as a sort of 2a through 2f group. If the 49ers beat Pittsburgh in two weeks that gets them up a notch. Of course, at the end of the day, power rankings really only serve as a vehicle for discussion more than anything else. Thankfully, the NFL does not use rankings like the BCS, leaving deserving teams without a shot at winning the Super Bowl.