49ers Power Ranking Roundup: Are the Niners the team to beat after Week 1?

Week 1 is officially in the books, and the 49ers closed out the opening week with a convincing victory over Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. The first week of football isn’t always the best indicator of success. Still, the 49ers made a statement against a team predicted to boast one of the better defenses in football without their reigning OPOY Christian McCaffrey.

What about news outlets across the country? How will they power rank the 49ers heading into Week 2? Let’s do a power-ranking roundup!

Bleacher Report

BR has the 49ers third in their power rankings behind the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs.

Here’s their blurb about the ranking:

No Christian McCaffrey?

No problem.

For most NFL teams, losing arguably their most dangerous offensive player just before the game would be a death knell. But in San Francisco’s dismantling of the New York Jets, McCaffrey was barely missed—largely because of the running of third-year pro Jordan Mason.

Mason tallied 147 yards and a score on 28 carries (his most since high school), consistently gouging the Jets right up the gut. The former undrafted free agent may have been the star of the night, but as Yahoo’s Frank Schwab wrote after the game, the ease with which San Fran won demonstrates just how loaded this team really is offensively.

Mason wasn’t carrying the 49ers, of course. Deebo Samuel Sr. split backfield duties and had a touchdown. George Kittle made plays. Brock Purdy started slow but got hot as he settled in. Purdy hit fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a 34-yard catch that set up a Mason touchdown early in the third quarter that effectively took the Jets out of the game. The 49ers defense is one of the best in the NFL and it showed. But Mason lived out what every backup dreams of, getting his chance and shining when the spotlight was on him.”

Mason isn’t going to do this every week, of course. And make no mistake, if the Niners are going to get over the hump and avenge last year’s Super Bowl loss, the team is going to need McCaffrey out there.

But this was a Jets team that some believe is the best in the AFC East—and the Niners handled them with ease. If they can do the same to the Rams in Week 2, San Fran could be firmly in the driver’s seat in the NFC West before the end of September.

ESPN

Following a preseason number three rank, the 49ers rise to number two behind the Kansas City Chiefs and land just ahead of the Lions at number three.

ESPN’s Nick Wagoner named Leonard Floyd as the best newcomer performance on Monday and said:

“San Francisco signed Floyd in free agency to be the down-to-down complement to DE Nick Bosa that it hasn’t had since Dee Ford in 2019. The early returns were good Monday night. Floyd finished with two tackles, one sack, one stuff and one pressure that led to an interception vs. Jets QB Aaron Rodgers.”

NFL.com

Again, the 49ers come in second heading into Week 2. I’m sensing a pattern here.

Eric Edholm was impressed with Jordan Mason, as was America on Monday night, and added this:

Christian McCaffrey (calf/Achilles) sat this one out. His backup, Jordan Mason, ran for a career-high 147 yards, more than doubling his previous best. Mind you, two of the 49ers’ stars, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams, didn’t have the benefit of training camp due to contract disputes and clearly were still gearing up. (Williams hit the locker room at one point in the fourth quarter to receive IV fluids, according to the ESPN broadcast.) Yet all the Niners did was carve away at a supposedly stout Jets defense for most of Monday night’s contest, to the tune of 32 points, scoring on eight straight drives. The only mild disappointment was settling for six field goals, but Kyle Shanahan coached a gem of a game.

He pounded those inside runs with Mason and kept the Jets off balance with his substitutions. Death by papercuts. Now imagine what this team can do at full strength.

Most outlets have ranked the 49ers in the top three, at the very least, and it is hard to argue their placement at number two after Monday’s performance. The question is, can the 49ers can dethrone the Chiefs from the number one spot and as reigning champions if the two teams meet again in the Super Bowl?