NFC West power rankings heading into Week 2
By Ryan Heckman
1. San Francisco 49ers
Of course, the 49ers take the top spot. The reasons are pretty obvious. San Francisco took on a Pittsburgh Steelers team that was riding a lot of preseason hype around the fact that their offense could take a huge step behind second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett. The Steelers were receiving a whole lot of love as a team that could surprise this year and contend once again for the AFC North title.
But, the 49ers had other plans. Instead, San Francisco completely dominated the Steelers in every sense of the game on Sunday. The Steelers offense was held to just 239 yards total, including only 41 on the ground. San Francisco's defense was as good as we remembered last year.
In terms of how dominant the 49ers were, they put up 188 yards on the ground by comparison. Christian McCaffrey looked unstoppable, to no one's surprise. Brock Purdy played a fantastic game, going 19-for-29 for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with no interceptions.
Meanwhile, Pickett threw two interceptions and the Steelers offense sputtered to just seven points. Pittsburgh averaged 3.9 yards per playand went just 5-for-15 on third downs. It was an all-around one-sided game for the 49ers, making them an obvious no. 1 after a week into the season.