NFL power rankings: Chiefs stay hot in Week 6, 49ers stay low
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers drop a spot in power rankings this week after their second consecutive overtime loss.
San Francisco 49ers
Week 5 arguably presented the first real opportunity the Niners had to pull off a win this season, as the Colts (2-3) have plenty of their own issues on both sides of the ball.
Yet head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense struggled in all but the fourth quarter, eventually going a lowly 4-of-14 on third downs and racking up a mere 66 rushing yards against an Indianapolis defense that has allowed the second-most yardage in the NFL through five weeks (1,987).
Quarterback Brian Hoyer’s stat line — 39-of-46 for 353 yards, two passing touchdowns against zero interceptions and a passer rating of 101.1 — looked good on the surface. But, like we’ve seen for much of 2017, he was largely inaccurate and regularly overthrowing his wide-open targets.
It’s clear he’s not the answer.
If there is a positive for Shanahan and Co., the 49ers have lost their last four games only by a combined 11 points.
At least they’re competitive, and that’s something we wouldn’t have been able to say a year ago at this time.