The San Francisco 49ers have now won 12 consecutive regular-season games, just three games shy of tying the 15-game record set between the 1989 and 1990 seasons. Sunday's 30-23 win against the Los Angeles Rams may not have been the prettiest of victories, but Kyle Shanahan's squad improved to 2-0 on the season and sit alone atop the NFC West.
The 49ers managed to beat their division rival despite quarterback Brock Purdy having arguably his most unimpressive game as a starter. He finished the game 17-of-25 for 206 yards and a passer rating of 93.1, a new regular-season career-low as a starter.
Meanwhile, running back Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL with 268 rushing yards and ranks second only to wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings in all-purpose yards.
As the Dallas Cowboys continue to roll over opponents, their fanbase believes they, not the Niners, should be considered the top team in the NFL. However, there is something to be said about the better level of competition the 49ers have faced so far. The two teams are set to collide in Week 5 at Levi's Stadium.
Before that, the Niners host the New York Giants on Thursday and the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
What does the national media think about the Niners' roster compared to the rest of the league? Below is a sample of some of the more prominent power rankings around the web and where San Francisco currently stands within each. As always, the highest rankings are listed first.
Bleacher Report
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"If you want to get technical, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy just had the worst game of his regular-season career. For the first time since taking over as starter for the 49ers, Purdy failed to throw a touchdown pass and posted a passer rating less than 95. However, the 49ers just kept on winning—because San Francisco truly is a team. Offensively, running back Christian McCaffrey had another big game, piling up 135 yards from scrimmage and finding the end zone. Defensively, Deommodore Lenoir and Isaiah Oliver had second-half interceptions of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford that wound up being huge plays in a close game. Depth and talent make these 49ers such a dangerous team. There are no clear weaknesses, and if one unit falters, another is waiting in the wings to pick up the slack and help propel the team to victory." — NFL Staff
CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"It wasn't easy against the Rams, but they found a way. The defense has to tighten up a bit going forward, but they are the best team right now." — Pete Prisco
ESPN
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"The Niners picked up Aiyuk's fifth-year option in May. The only first-round pick the Niners have signed to a second contract in the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch era (since 2017) is defensive end Nick Bosa, waiting until after his fourth season to do it. The Niners would like to make Aiyuk the second. The question is whether they can afford to keep both Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel long term. Much of that will depend on whether Aiyuk can build off last year's breakthrough season, in which he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time and led the team in receptions (78) while finishing second in touchdowns (eight). If he can, the cost to retain him will only increase." — Nick Wagoner
NFL.com
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"Beating the Rams was a gut-check win in a lot of ways, even if a few big missed connections could have made it a larger margin of victory. Some will hone in on the Brock Purdy overthrows, but he came through with the touchdown drive before halftime and delivered some big throws on the fourth-quarter TD march. I'm not worried about him. But the health of the secondary is getting a little scary. The Niners were paper-thin by game's end, but credit goes to Isaiah Oliver, who was thrust into a major role because of injuries, and Deommodore Lenoir, who left the game for a bit before making a pick late. Both came up huge. In lieu of style points, San Francisco won with resolve, keeping Kyle Shanahan's bunch at No. 1." — Eric Edholm
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 2
"Things looked a bit dicey for a while in Los Angeles against the Rams, but San Francisco got off the field a few times by way of Matthew Stafford interceptions, whether his fault (the second one) or not (the first one). Brock Purdy continues to look solid in the 49ers offense. His ability to hit doubles and triples gives them more explosive potential than it had under Jimmy Garoppolo, and he's done a good job taking care of the football so far this season." — Dalton Miller
Sporting News
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"The 49ers sweat a little in their rivalry road game in Los Angeles, but they just had too much firepower with Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey doing their thing vs. the Rams' defense. They have no holes beyond some secondary leaks." — Vinnie Iyer
Touchdown Wire
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"The 49ers put up 30 points, once again, and they were two Brock Purdy overthrows away from scoring 40. They are basically fielding the NFL All-Pro team on either side of the ball with Kite Man as their quarterback, and no one seems to have any answers for them." — Jarrett Bailey
USA Today
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"Can't do better than winning your first two games, especially when those victories come on the road. San Francisco is home the next three weekends and very likely to be 4-0 heading into a Week 5 Sunday nighter against Dallas." — Nate Davis
Yahoo! Sports
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 5
"Deebo Samuel had 63 yards receiving, 38 rushing and looked like the all-around threat that made him an All-Pro in 2021. As we know with the 49ers, the only player that is guaranteed touches and production each week will be Christian McCaffrey. The rest will rotate. In Week 1 it was Brandon Aiyuk. Week 2 was Samuel. George Kittle's big game is coming soon. It's not a bad thing." — Frank Schwab
Current Ranking: 2
Previous Rank: 1
"In 19 days, they get a chance to settle things on the field against the Cowboys." — Mike Florio
Sports Illustrated
Current Ranking: 2
Previous Rank: 1
"What we saw on Sunday was not just a good schematic battle, but a display of how the 49ers can simply beat teams because they have better players. Christian McCaffrey's first touchdown was emblematic of that. Not many teams have a player who can just float through human bodies. It's a pretty neat trait that college scouting directors should start looking for. I would count the 49ers and the Cowboys as neck and neck in terms of depth. Brock Purdy continues to impress, and has such a pronounced feel for the pocket. Someone mentioned this about the Jimmy G 49ers of last year and I still think it rings true: even when he makes a bad throw or a bad read, the play is still gaining 15 yards per clip." — Conor Orr
The Athletic
Current Ranking: 4
Previous Rank: 2
"We (sincerely) hate to even bring this up given the 49ers' recent history with devastating injuries, but all of San Francisco needs to be saying its prayers for Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel. The duo had 32 of the Niners' 45 touches Sunday. For the season, it's 66 of 98." — Josh Kendall
