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The NFL kicks off Week 14 in a little over 24 hours, and the San Francisco 49ers return to action in four days. The 49ers will travel to face the Houston Texans, looking to grab their third win in four games. After a rough 0-9 start, maybe the quarterback change sparks a strong run to close out the season?
In the meantime, we’re back with a look at Week 14 NFL power rankings around the media. The 49ers have started to inch up ever so slightly. After bottoming out at 31 prior to the Giants game, they have climbed into the 20s in most media rankings. SB Nation and our Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation have the high rankings at No. 26. Bleacher Repoort and Yahoo!’s Shutdown Corner have the low rankings at 30.
The Cleveland Browns and New York Giants are consistently in the bottom two spots. The 49ers are lumped in with the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and Indianapolis Colts in the next chunk of rankings. If they beat the Texans this weekend, that lump of teams will grow a little larger.
The 49ers won another game! Jimmy Garoppolo had a promising 49ers debut.
Reuben Foster was injured in Week 1 and didn't return until Week 7, but he has flashed potential since his return. Foster has 42 tackles since Week 7, most among rookie defenders and 12 more than any other 49er in that time.
Jimmy Garoppolo makes the 49ers infinitely more interesting to watch the rest of the season. Now the 49ers fans have to hope he’s good, just not good enough to screw up their draft position.
Last Week’s Rank: 31
Points in MMQB Power Poll: 88
Highest-Place Vote: 25th (3)
Lowest-Place Vote: 30th
Last Week’s Result: Win at Chicago, 15-14
Week 14 Opponent: at Houston
What a difference having a starting-caliber quarterback makes. Jimmy Garoppolo gives the San Francisco 49ers a different offense with his ability to move in the pocket and his quick release. He also made some throws into tight windows against the Chicago Bears that were impressive—especially considering he's only been in the system for roughly a month.
A good quarterback can make a few plays to get an offense over the hump, even on a team that isn't that talented.
The San Francisco defense isn't special, but it played well against Chicago. It dominated the Bears up front for most of the day.
The 49ers are in rebuilding mode, and Sunday's win should be a confidence-builder for anyone who cares about or follows the franchise. San Francisco has a quarterback, a head coach and some pieces in place. Now it needs to work on adding to everything else.
The Jimmy Garoppolo era got off to a promising start with the win over the Bears. Garoppolo was pretty good even with a pared-down version of Coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He should only get better from this point forward.
Things look a little better in the Bay Area now that Jimmy Garoppolo has taken over the offense.
The 49ers beat the Bears at Soldier Field in Jimmy Garoppolo’s first start, so there is hope for the future.
What a weekend for 49ers fans, who got to celebrate a rare road win in the first start of the Jimmy Garoppolo era. In addition to being San Francisco's first road win since 2016 (when the team beat the Rams in Los Angeles), it was the team's first W outside the state of California in 24 months. On Dec. 6, 2015, Blaine Gabbert delivered in overtime in, coincidentally, Chicago. Couple of notes: First, Garoppolo was efficient, if not prolific. Second, Niners- Bears is a wonderful uni matchup. It brought back memories of the most impressive win of the Bill Walsh era, the 1988 NFC Championship Game, when the 49ers (in their road whites) proved they were no finesse team in slamming Da Bears, 28-3.