The San Francisco 49ers have now won six consecutive games, the last two with rookie quarterback Brock Purdy at the helm of the offense. He helped deny a future Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a win at Levi's Stadium on Sunday.
On Thursday night, the 49ers can clinch the NFC West with a win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. It will be Purdy's second career start and his first road start. With just three games after that, two of which are at home, San Francisco looks poised for a return to the playoffs for the third time in four years.
Most of the regular-season home stretch will be without Deebo Samuel. The wide receiver suffered MCL and ankle sprains against the Buccaneers. However, he avoided a season-ending injury and is expected to return.
We'll find out how good the 49ers defense can be in these final four regular-season games. The unit remains the league's best, allowing an average of 10.7 points per game during the current win streak.
Below is a sample of some of the more prominent power rankings around the web and where San Francisco currently stands within each. The highest rankings are listed first.
NFL.com
Current Ranking: 2
Previous rank: 7
"There will be life after Jimmy Garoppolo for the 49ers. Perhaps even football immortality, come the second Sunday in February. Brock Purdy stepped into the starting lineup on Sunday and easily outplayed Tom Brady in a 35-7 win over the Bucs at Levi's Stadium. Purdy was a natural in Kyle Shanahan's offense, looking very similar to the hyper-efficient distributor Jimmy G had become in this attack before breaking his foot. Purdy will have to show he's more than a one-hit wonder, but his performance fuels legitimate optimism that San Francisco remains a serious title contender despite rotten injury luck at the game's most important position." — Dan Hanzus
Sports Illustrated
Current Ranking: 2
Previous rank: 3
"Yes, we are overrating NFC teams just slightly given the caliber of competition, but what we saw Sunday was a complete dressing down of a qualified opponent and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. I once wrote about Kyle Shanahan's skill set as a practice squad quarterback and now legitimately wonder how good the 49ers might be with the 42-year-old under center. That's how complete this team is." — Conor Orr
Sporting News
Current Ranking: 4
Previous rank: 6
"The 49ers came out and smashed the Buccaneers with their defense and plenty of solid play from rookie Brock Purdy with a big assist from Christian McCaffrey. It was unfortunate another big injury happened, this time to Deebo Samuel." — Vinnie Iyer
The Athletic
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: 7
"With Brock Purdy solving the quarterback position in San Francisco for the next decade or so, the Niners are back in the realm of Super Bowl contenders. Purdy went 16-of-21 for 185 yards and two touchdowns against Tampa Bay, both of which were thrown downfield outside the numbers. The only other touchdown pass thrown by the 49ers this season downfield and outside the numbers was tossed by Christian McCaffrey (who had his best rushing performance as a Niner Sunday)." — Bo Wulf
ESPN
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: 7
"The offense has been on a decided upward trajectory since acquiring running back Christian McCaffrey, as San Francisco has averaged 28.7 points per game since McCaffrey took on a full-time role in Week 8, up eight points from before he arrived. Perhaps most encouraging is a special teams unit that had some struggles early in the season but is rounding into form with returner Ray-Ray McCloud III -- who now ranks in the top eight in kick and punt return average for the season -- leading the way." — Nick Wagoner
Pro Football Talk
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: 5
"One too many injuries could keep this team from getting to where it wants to be." — Mike Florio
Yahoo! Sports
Current Ranking: 5
Previous rank: 7
"The Brock Purdy story is tremendous. It's hard to believe that a third-string rookie quarterback taken with the last pick of the draft could lead a team to a Super Bowl, but in the past two weeks the 49ers look the part of a title team. Maybe Purdy will be exposed in an adverse situation — on the road, when the 49ers fall behind, in a tense playoff game, and so forth — but maybe this is an awesome all-time story we're seeing unfold. It's certainly making the 49ers must-watch TV the rest of the way." — Frank Schwab
Bleacher Report
Current Ranking: 6
Previous rank: 8
"It looks like we're going to have to find a new nickname for San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy. Because "Mr. Irrelevant" just isn't accurate. For the second straight week, the final pick in the 2022 draft played well in Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former Iowa State standout didn't post huge numbers (185 passing yards, two passing scores, one rushing score), but he showed excellent command of the offense and the Niners had zero problems moving the ball most of the afternoon. ... The game wasn't without adversity—wide receiver Deebo Samuel was carted from the field with a nasty-looking ankle injury. But San Francisco appears to have dodged a bullet, with reports indicating that Samuel avoided major injury." — NFL Staff
CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 6
Previous rank: 7
"Brock Purdy was really good in his first NFL start in beating the Bucs. But it's the defense that really is carrying this team." — Pete Prisco
The Ringer
Current Ranking: 6
Previous rank: 9
"The sample size is tiny, but man, it's hard not to back Brock Purdy and the 49ers right now. All Purdy has to do with Kyle Shanahan pulling the strings is protect the football, not collapse under pressure, and capitalize on the few downfield shots he gets per game—and so far he's checking every box. Even with Deebo Samuel out for at least a few weeks with an ankle injury, the 49ers have enough talent around Purdy to win out the rest of the regular season and go into the playoffs red hot." — Austin Gayle
USA Today
Current Ranking: 6
Previous rank: 8
"They can clinch NFC West by winning in Seattle on Thursday night – a golden opportunity to secure a home playoff game while spending the balance of the regular season managing a battered roster." — Nate Davis
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