The San Francisco 49ers keep climbing the NFL’s power rankings with each victory. The team was at No. 7 last week, and are up a few spots after Monday night’s massacre. Here is the blurb on the Niners from this week:
Previous rank: No. 7
Nick Bosa is a bad man. The No. 2 overall pick announced himself as an NFL star on “Monday Night Football” against the Browns, stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of two sacks, two tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Yes, he planted his flag in more ways than one. Bosa was the face of a nearly perfect performance by the 49ers, who are 4-0 for the first time since 1990 and have an NFC-best +70 scoring differential. The blowout of the Browns sets up a Week 6 matchup against the defending NFC champion Rams. It’s the Niners’ biggest game since Jim Harbaugh roamed the sidelines.
Bosa is a baller. The entire defensive line has embarrassed each opponent. I don’t want to take anything away from Bosa, as he’s clearly leading the way. We can’t ignore Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, and Dee Ford. The entire defense has been exceptional.
Only the Patriots have a bigger point differential after five weeks. You can’t fake this type of success. Football Outsiders has the 49ers with the highest DVOA, which adjusts for the opponent, in the NFL. San Francisco is the sixth-best team ever measured through four games. This start is legit.
The Browns plummeted seven spots to No. 21. Here was the excerpt on Cleveland:
So much for momentum. Last week’s complete victory over the Ravens felt like a distant memory as the 49ers pulled away from an utterly overmatched Browns team on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium. Cleveland was bullied in all phases, but the greatest concern coming out of the loss has to be with QB Baker Mayfield, who played poorly on a national stage. Last season, Mayfield set an NFL record for TD passes by a rookie. This year? He leads the NFL with eight interceptions despite the much-hyped addition of Odell Beckham Jr., who was quiet again. Mayfield will have nightmares about Nick Bosa, who lived in the backfield and settled an old score with one celebration. This was not supposed to be the script in Cleveland.
“Cleveland was bullied in all phases.”
As for the rest of the NFC West, the Cardinals are up one spot to No. 28. The Rams fell one spot to No. 9. The Seahawks moved up three places to No. 7. This is going to be a competitive division. I can’t wait for Sunday.