49ers: Experts' takes on San Francisco in Week 8 NFL power rankings

Niner Noise combs through the league’s latest NFL power rankings for Week 8 and sees what experts are saying about the San Francisco 49ers after their latest loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Any thought the San Francisco 49ers were “keeping things close” evaporated after a 40-10 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys last week.

The Niners were outclassed in virtually every facet of the game. San Francisco’s pass rush was nonexistent, while Dallas’ own pass-rushers seemed to have free will against quarterback C.J. Beathard.

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott carved up the Niners’ injured defense with ease, making quarterback Dak Prescott’s life all the more easy.

San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

On a day the 49ers were honoring former wide receiver Dwight Clark, the product on the field showcased an effort that was about as ugly as it could get.

Needless to say, San Francisco won’t gain any points in experts’ NFL power rankings heading into Week 8. The Niners still aren’t the worst team in the league. That dishonor belongs to the lowly Cleveland Browns, who are the only other team to remain winless this deep into the season.

But what are the experts saying? Let’s take a look in our latest power rankings compilation.

Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: 31 (even)

"Not a game to remember for the current 49ers, as rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard’s first start resulted in a 40-10 loss at home. Beathard made a few nice plays, including with his legs, though it became clear early on that San Francisco — particularly Kyle Shanahan’s defense — was overmatched against the Cowboys."

ESPN Stats & Information: 31 (even)

"The saying goes: On any given Sunday, you can win or lose. The 49ers have lost 19 straight games played on Sunday. If they played more on Monday, Thursday or Saturday, they might have a chance at the division. Instead, their chances at the division are literally zero percent."

USA Today Sports: 31 (even)

"A real shame they couldn’t muster a far more competitive performance to honor Dwight Clark’s appearance at Levi’s Stadium."

Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: 31 (even)

"So much for that run of competitive games. It probably shouldn’t be that surprising the offense struggled in rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard’s first start. He struggled against the Cowboys blitzes, and there were many of them. But it seems Kyle Shanahan is set to stick with him."

Chris Simms, Bleacher Report: 31 (even)

"It’s been a year of self-inflicted wounds for the San Francisco 49ers. This trend continued against the Dallas Cowboys, starting with a muffed punt near the end zone by Trent Taylor early in the first quarter.C.J. Beathard and the rest of the offense did some positive things, and the rookie quarterback continues to take steps. However, the offensive line let the 49ers down. Beathard took a pair of sack-fumbles, one of which came in the red zone just before the half.This was the worst performance by the 49ers defense too. Arik Armstead was out and that hurt, and the run defense was atrocious. The pass defense wasn’t much better. Once the Cowboys got things rolling, San Francisco never had a chance to turn it around."

Russell Baxter, FanSided: 30 (+1)

"It was ugly early and just got worse by the minute. New head coach Kyle Shanahan is still seeking his first victory as a sideline leader. Prior to Sunday’s lopsided loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the San Francisco 49ers had dropped five consecutive contests by three points or less. That certainly wasn’t the case against the defending NFC East champions, who returned from their off week and handed the Niners a devastating 40-10 setback. Robert Saleh’s defensive unit allowed a whopping 501 total yards (265 yards on the ground) in the club’s eighth straight loss dating back to last season."

The general consensus I get is analysts pretty much view the Niners for who they are — a bad team with few playmakers impeded by a plethora of self-done mistakes. Unlike the Browns, the 49ers appear to have a plan, which is likely what’s keeping them out of the basement in NFL power rankings here.

More from Niner Noise

A big question for me would be how head coach Kyle Shanahan handles this adversity. It’s one thing to lose close games and possibly admit “we’re close,” but to get blown out in the manner the Niners did Sunday, well, that’s another matter.

Life won’t get any easier for San Francisco in Week 8, as the team has to travel back east to face the one-loss Philadelphia Eagles, who carved up the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football.

Next: 5 biggest losers from 49ers' 40-10 loss to Cowboys

Barring some inspired bounce-back performance, or a series of massive mistakes from Philly, all signs point to the 49ers off to a 0-8 start to 2017.

San Francisco 49ers: Experts’ takes in Week 8 NFL power rankings

By Peter Panacy | Oct 24, 2017