The 49ers took care of a tricky opponent in the Broncos, moving to 4-0 with a 24-14 win at home. The title spoils where the Niners sit, but what about the rest of the NFL?
The San Francisco 49ers have enjoyed a perfect first month to the season, moving to 4-0 and a statement win over a strong Denver Broncos defense with a 24-14 win that saw more than a few nerves frayed by the end.
The field of undefeated teams whittled down to just three now, with the Niners being joined by the Kansas City Chiefs and (somewhat surprisingly) the Minnesota Vikings.
Another week of football gives us some more movement in the NFL power rankings, although we now have enough football under their respective belts to give us a good idea of where most teams sit.
You can view last week below, and let's get into it.
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1. San Francisco 49ers (4-0) - Last Week: 2
Brock Purdy did benefit from Patrick Surtain leaving the game, but taking down one elite defense with a strong game was a big step towards his MVP campaign.
The 49ers could set themselves up incredibly well if they can somehow notch a road win at Seattle next week.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0) - Last Week: 4
I don't know who had the bright idea to give Patrick Mahomes a running back, but the NFL would like a word with them. Kenneth Walker has looked amazing, and the Chiefs are back to their habit of winning more than their fair share of close games.
3. Buffalo Bills (3-1) - Last Week: 2
Losing a tight divisional game to the Patriots isn't the end of the world, but Josh Allen threw a simply baffling pick to lose the game. The problem for the Bills, however, lays more in their horrible pass defense, and the fact they haven't had a dominant win all year despite two of those teams being the winless Chargers and Texans.
4. Seattle Seahawks (3-1) - Last Week: 6
Don't let the 30-23 score line in the win over the winless Chargers fool you, the game was well out of hand at 30-13 entering the final quarter when the Bolts scored some garbage time points.
The Seahawks and the 49ers are the two best teams in the NFC so far (despite the record of the Vikings).
5. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) - Last Week: 3
Yes the Ravens won, but they're slightly knocked down because of the injury to Lamar Jackson. They should be fine for the season, but for now, we don't know the extent of the injury at time of writing.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1) - Last Week: 7
The Jaguars continue to float under the radar as a Super Bowl contender, slightly, but beating the Bengals on the road shows how strong this team can be. A real dark horse.
7. Chicago Bears (3-1) - Last Week: 8
Tyson Bagent is a good backup QB, and the Bears are strong enough to handle mediocre opposition with Bagent under center. The Jets didn't challenge them, and I expect them to still handle the disappointing Packers regardless of their quarterback.
8. Minnesota Vikings (4-0) - Last Week: 9
The Vikings are 4-0, but I'm not sure how legitimate they are with their offense. They struggled badly in the red zone and allowed a horrific Miami team to keep pace despite outgaining it by a healthy amount of yardage.
9. Las Vegas Raiders (3-1) - Last Week: 12
I can't believe I'm doing this, but I am. The Raiders are in my top 10. Yes, they lost, but they were a punt-return fumble away from winning. Despite the loss, they still looked good. Maybe I'll regret this in a few weeks with a tough schedule coming up, but they just look...different.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) - Last Week: 5
I said the Bengals defense was on fraud watch, but this time, it was the offense that whiffed. I'll give them a slight reprieve, given Ja'Marr Chase got hurt early on, which didn't help, and they should bounce back against the Dolphins.
11. Los Angeles Rams (2-2) - Last Week: 13
I have to think a competent offense (which Philadelphia is not) would make the Rams 1-3. But then again, you could argue it was karma for the blown pass-interference call that doomed the Rams last week.
Maybe 2-2 is the right record after all.
12. Denver Broncos (2-2) - Last Week: 14
I won't be too harsh on the Broncos, who held the 49ers very well until they lost Patrick Surtain to injury. But the offense continues to be a concern, they can't rely on comebacks in clutch time every week.
13. New England Patriots (2-2) - Last Week: 15
A road win at Buffalo is one way to get the season back on track. The Raiders next week is going to be a great litmus test of where both teams currently are.
14. Indianapolis Colts (2-2) - Last Week: 16
I stated last week I was purchasing stock in the Colts, and I do think they're better than the abysmal ranking I had them the last two weeks, but it's hard to ascertain how legitimate their London win over the Commanders was, given the Commanders went down to their third-string rookie quarterback.
Fortunately for the Colts, Athan Kaliakmanis did not resemble Brock Purdy 2.0.
15. Atlanta Falcons (2-2) - Last Week: 26
I said I needed to see if the Falcons could back it up before they move up in the rankings in a significant way. I think a 21-point divisional drubbing of the Saints on the road counts.
Michael Penix Jr. resembles, at the very least, a functional QB.
16. Carolina Panthers (2-2) - Last Week: 19
I declared Bryce Young a franchise quarterback in Week 2, and the Panthers followed that up with a disappointing performance. Next week, I expressed my disappointment, and then they win.
Since I moved them up in the rankings, does the bye week render that a tie?
17. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) - Last Week: 20
Dallas is a little overhyped. The wins, after all, were over the hapless Commanders and over a winless Houston team that required a last-minute comeback. But on the other hand, the Cowboys' losses are a tight one versus the Ravens and to a Giants team that had Jaxson Dart still.
18. Detroit Lions (2-2) - Last Week: 11
I knocked the Lions down so bad because their pass defense is ABSYMAL. Like, 32nd-in-the-league abysmal. Their pass defense is so bad that even the Jets pass defense, which couldn't buy an interception for nearly two years until this week, was better at defending the pass.
19. Cleveland Browns (3-1) - Last Week: 25
Cleveland usually beats Pittsburgh at least once a season, so that in and of itself isn't a shock. But somehow, the Browns are 3-1.
We live in a world where the Raiders and the Browns are a combined 6-2.
Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria etc.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) - Last Week: 18
The Steelers are not a fun football team. Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers swearing at each other on live TV does remove a little of the tedium.
21. Green Bay Packers (2-2) - Last Week: 22
Forgive me for not gushing over the Packers after their 17-14 win over one of the worst teams in the NFL in the Buccaneers, who were one of the worst teams in the league before having to start an undrafted rookie at quarterbacks.
22. Houston Texans (0-4) - Last Week: 17
The Texans stock I "purchased" in Week 2 is losing value by the game. The one thing I'm keeping faith in is the offense actually looked decent. The defense doesn't have bad games like this twice. So, maybe there's a glimmer of hope.
23. New York Giants (3-1) - Last Week: 24
Maybe Jaxson Dart being out for the season hasn't doomed them after all. Jameis Winston is erratic but he isn't hopeless. The G-Men are 3-1 in a weak division, and their upcoming month is all winnable.
Commanders. Saints. Texans. Then the bye. It's not crazy to think they have a chance of being 6-1 or 5-2, right?
24. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) - Last Week: 14
The Eagles' quarterback can't throw. Their running back is injured. Their receivers can't catch. The defense is fine, but the coaching is still horrible. The two wins are by a combined five points including a last-second escape over winless Tennessee.
This is an overrated team.
25. New Orleans Saints (1-3) - Last Week: 21
The Saints got crushed against the Falcons. This isn't a horrific squad, but NOLA is the third best team in a mediocre division. There's just no consistency.
26. Arizona Cardinals (1-3) - Last Week: 27
Arizona lost but moves up a spot.
Give the Cardinals credit for continuing to be a pesky team in a game that was nowhere as one-sided as a glance the box score would have you think. They were real close to sneaking a win and moving to 2-2.
27. New York Jets (1-3) - Last Week: 23
The Jets were horrific against the Bears, but that's going to happen. I still think the Jets are headed in the right direction.
28. Washington Commanders (1-1) - Last Week: 28
Given the quarterback situation in their trip to London, I'm not going to knock them down. In fact there's optimism, given Jayden Daniels is back, at least until he gets hurt again.
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4) - Last Week: 30
I was hoping Jalon Daniels would shock the world, which unfortunately he did not, but he was by no means horrible. He made some good plays with his legs, and while his passing was shaking against a poor defense, maybe that can improve, too. He has backup potential, at least.
30. Los Angeles Chargers (0-4) - Last Week: 29
As if Justin Herbert's play falling off a cliff hasn't been bad enough, but the Chargers would lose both starting tackles and Ladd McConkey to injury.
31. Tennessee Titans (0-4) - Last Week: 31
It took Lamar Jackson going out with an injury to make a comeback that ran out of time, so the 24-18 loss looks good on paper, but it's a bit misleading.
32. Miami Dolphins (0-3) - Last Week: 32
The Dolphins were able to stay within two touchdowns of an opponent for the first time all year. Unfortunately, this was more due to Minnesota's red-zone incompetence than anything else.
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