The San Francisco 49ers' 2020 fate is sealed. They are among the worst teams in the league. Although, those involved in power rankings seem to understand the reason why. Injuries have decimated the roster to the point where it simply cannot compete with anyone.
As Nate Davis of USA Today notes below, San Francisco is 1-3 against the NFC East. Kyle Shanahan's squad suffered a playoff-eliminating loss on Sunday to the Dallas Cowboys, who at 5-9 — the same record as the 49ers — can still win the division with just two weeks remaining in the regular season. That tells you everything you need to know about the NFC East and why having a losing record against that division is so telling of San Francisco's 2020 woes.
The 49ers' only win against the NFC East came against the New York Giants in Week 3.
"This year was the most disappointing one," Shanahan said after Sunday's game. "We had very high expectations coming into this year. Losing the Super Bowl and then not getting to see our guys until training camp, we were really working on trying to run that back with a very similar group. We didn't make too many changes, and I think that changed pretty early in the season, and we had to go in a different direction with our team and stuff.
"Definitely a huge challenge this year. I always believe we could have won more games than we have so far."
Maybe 2021 will be better.
Below is a sample of some of the more prominent power rankings around the web and where San Francisco currently stands within each.
ESPN
Current Ranking: 20
Previous rank: 19
"Most underrated star: FS Jimmie Ward. Other than middle linebacker Fred Warner, no player on the Niners' defense has more snap-to-snap responsibility than Ward, who has finally settled in as a free safety after years of bouncing among positions in the secondary. Although Ward would like to add more takeaways to his ledger, he's a good tackler who excels in coverage and allows coordinator Robert Saleh to take more chances up front, knowing that Ward will be in the right position on the back end." — Nick Wagoner
Sports Illustrated
Current Ranking: 22
Previous rank: 24
"The injury dam broke. This just isn't a great team anymore. It can be in 2021. Not now." — Albert Breer
Bleacher Report
Current Ranking: 26
Previous rank: 24
"After Sunday's sloppy affair in Dallas, the Niners are guaranteed a losing season. Any dwindling hope they had of getting back to the playoffs is toast. If there's a silver lining to this disaster of a season, it's that the Niners are much better positioned to compete in 2021 than the typical five-win team. It's just a matter of getting healthy and adding a few pieces with a higher-than-expected draft slot." — NFL Staff
CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 26
Previous rank: 21
"The Super Bowl hangover is now complete. They are done. Has any team ever dealt with more than this team did this year?" — Pete Prisco
NFL.com
Current Ranking: 26
Previous rank: 21
"Shanahan has had just one winning season in four years in San Francisco, but this season came on the heels of a near Super Bowl win last February. The Niners were supposed to finish the job in 2020 -- at least until a wave of injuries and COVID-19-related madness ruined everything. The good news? The Niners should have a top-15 pick in the 2021 draft to add to a roster that is excellent when at full health. It's been an ugly year by the Bay, but a return to championship contention in 2021 would not be a surprise." — Dan Hanzus
USA Today
Current Ranking: 27
Previous rank: 18
"Plenty of factors fueled their highly disappointing NFC title defense, but perhaps Niners' 1-3 record against NFC East best sums up what amounts to dreaded Super Bowl hangover." — Nate Davis
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