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The San Francisco 49ers lost their fifth straight game to open the season, dropping an overtime heartbreaker to the Indianapolis Colts. In losing by three points, they became the first team since the 1994 Houston Oilers in the Super Bowl era to lose four straight games each by a field goal or less. So, hey, they’re at least making some history.
We’re back once again to take a look at NFL power rankings around the media landscape. The 49ers are one of three remaining winless teams, alongside the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. In my Week 6 NFL power rankings, I had the 49ers at No. 30, ahead of both them. That could very well change as the 49ers might not be finding a win anytime soon.
In the meantime, we’re back with a look at various media power rankings. There are really no surprises at this point. The Cleveland Browns continue to bring up the rear, and the 49ers range between No. 29 and No. 31. Until the Browns or 49ers win, nothing much is really changing anytime soon. Wash, rinse, repeat.
The 49ers have virtually no shot at making the playoffs following a five-loss start. To their credit, four of their five losses have been by exactly three points, so at least they've been in most of their games.
They fought at Indianapolis, but dropped to 0-5. They lost consecutive overtime games, which can take a lot out of a team.
Politics aside, the Niners lost another game they had a chance to win. They’re not Browns-level bad, based on the eye test. But their record says that they are.
Another close game for the 49ers. That’s encouraging, but they’ve still yet to win a game this season.
Since looking bad in Week 1, the 49ers have four losses by 11 total points, with no loss by more than a field goal. The 49ers are the second team, joining the 1994 Oilers, to lose four straight games in the same season by three or fewer points (h/t to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press). Sure, it stinks to lose all those games. But in the big picture, this is a talent-poor team that’s battling hard and coming close. They had a nice comeback to force overtime on Sunday. It could be worse.
At some point soon, Kyle Shanahan's group will break through and get a win.