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In this morning's Golden Nuggets, Method24 pointed us to a link from last year's Week 9 NFL power rankings. The San Francisco 49ers were coming off a 24-3 beating of the Arizona Cardinals, stood 6-2, and also were heading into their bye week. In those NFL.com power rankings, the 49ers ranked No. 5.
As the 49ers head into their upcoming bye, standing 6-2 after their dismantling of the Jacksonville Jaguars, I thought I'd take a look at how the 49ers compare now to back then. ESPN takes their sweet time getting power rankings together, so forget them!
| Rank | 2013 | 2012 |
| 1 | Denver Broncos | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | Houston Texans |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts | New York Giants |
| 4 | Kansas City Chiefs | Chicago Bears |
| 5 | New Orleans Saints | San Francisco 49ers |
| 6 | San Francisco 49ers | New England Patriots |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | Green Bay Packers |
| 8 | Cincinnati Bengals | Baltimore Ravens |
| 9 | Carolina Panthers | Denver Broncos |
| 10 | New England Patriots | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Rank | 2013 | 2012 |
| 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2 | Seattle Seahawks | Chicago Bears |
| 3 | New Orleans Saints | Houston Texans |
| 4 | Denver Broncos | New York Giants |
| 5 | San Francisco 49ers | San Francisco 49ers |
In comparing this year's 49ers Week 9 49ers team with last year's team, there are of course some noticeable differences in the starting lineup:
Starting QB
THEN: Alex Smith
NOW: Colin Kaepernick
Starting WRs
THEN: Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss/Mario Manningham
NOW: Anquan Boldin, Kyle Williams (with Mario Manningham likely replacing him after the bye)
Nose Tackle
THEN: Isaac Sopoaga
NOW: Glenn Dorsey
OLB
THEN: Aldon Smith
NOW: Corey Lemonier/Dan Skuta (for now)
Free safety
THEN: Dashon Goldson
NOW: Eric Reid
Nickel back
THEN: Chris Culliver
NOW: Tramaine Brock
Kicker
THEN: David Akers
NOW: Phil Dawson
Week 8 marked the final game Alex Smith would complete in a 49ers uniform. Here is a rundown of the 49ers results to date this season compared to the start of the 2012 season. That is followed by the post-bye schedule. This is not exactly an apples to apples comparison, but I think it's still interesting to compare the two. The changes impact how each season should be viewed, but that is also kind of what makes it all the more interesting.
Results to date
| Week | 2013 | 2012 |
| 1 | vs. Packers (W 34-28) | @ Packers (W 30-22) |
| 2 | @ Seahawks (L 29-3) | vs. Lions (W 27-19) |
| 3 | vs. Colts (L 27-7) | @ Vikings (L 24-13) |
| 4 | @ Rams (W 35-11) | @ Jets (W 34-0) |
| 5 | vs. Texans (W 34-3) | vs. Bills (W 45-3) |
| 6 | vs. Cardinals (W 32-20) | vs. Giants (L 26-3) |
| 7 | @ Titans (W 31-17) | vs. Seahawks (W 13-6) |
| 8 | @ Jaguars (W 42-10) | @ Cardinals (W 24-3) |
Schedule following bye
| Week | 2013 | 2012 |
| 10 | vs. Panthers | vs. Rams (T 24-24) |
| 11 | @ Saints | vs. Bears (W 32-7) |
| 12 | @ Washington | @ Saints (W 31-21) |
| 13 | vs. Rams | @ Rams (L 16-13) |
| 14 | vs. Seahawks | vs. Dolphins (W 27-13) |
| 15 | @ Buccaneers | @ Patriots (W 41-34) |
| 16 | vs. Falcons | @ Seahawks (L 42-13) |
| 17 | @ Cardinals | vs. Cardinals (W 27-13) |