The San Francisco 49ers didn’t just beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday - they steamrolled them 38-17, piling up five turnovers and leaning on a defense that kept the game under control from start to finish.
That kind of win usually nudges a team upward in the polls. For San Francisco, though, the Week 10 power rankings mostly held steady. The 49ers are still tied for the NFL’s best record at 7-1 with the Buffalo Bills, and the rankings reflected that familiar top-end status more than any dramatic leap.
ESPN kept the 49ers at No. 2, again slotting them behind Buffalo. That made sense after the Bills handled the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in a meeting of one-loss teams.
ESPN’s top three stayed the same as last week, with the Jacksonville Jaguars still sitting in that group. Chicago moved up to No.
4, Denver slipped to No. 5, and the rest of the top 10 stayed intact, just shuffled around. Kansas City remained at No.
6, Cincinnati jumped from No. 10 to No. 7 after its 34-17 win over Atlanta, Minnesota dropped to No. 8, Seattle fell to No. 9 after beating Arizona 17-3, and Detroit slid to No. 10 after defeating Miami.
ESPN also pointed to Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks as the most important game left on the schedule.
The Athletic also left San Francisco at No. 2 behind Buffalo and handed the 49ers a midseason grade of an ‘A’. Chad Graff and Josh Kendall highlighted the way the team has separated itself statistically and through another big day from Christian McCaffrey.
“The Niners have the second-best point differential in the NFL (plus-79), and they hardly broke a sweat Sunday in another multi-touchdown game from Christian McCaffrey,” they wrote. “His 37 career touchdown receptions are the most by a running back in the Super Bowl era, surpassing Marshall Faulk.”
In that ranking, Denver stayed at No. 3, Kansas City moved up to No. 4, and Jacksonville climbed to No.
- The Bears, Bengals, Lions, Packers, and Vikings filled out the rest of the top 10.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco also kept San Francisco at No. 2, with no movement inside the top five. His note on the 49ers was straightforward: “They just keep playing as well as anybody in the NFC, despite their many injuries,” Prisco wrote.
“Brock Purdy is in the MVP talk.” CBS left Buffalo, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Chicago, and Denver as the top five, while Kansas City, Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Green Bay rounded out the top 10.
Minnesota fell five spots to No. 11.
FOX Sports had the 49ers at No. 3 last week, and this time moved them up one spot to No. 2 behind the Bills. Ralph Vacchiano said the Falcons loss before the bye now looks like an outlier.
“The 49ers clearly fixed whatever it was that happened to them before the bye week when they lost to the Falcons - a game that now looks like a weird blip on their otherwise stellar season,” he wrote. “They came out strong and fast, putting the Las Vegas Raiders in their place quickly.
“And the fact that they did it without WR Mike Evans made it even more impressive. Of course, that’s what they do best: Overcome injuries.
They’re that good and they’re that deep. They still look like they deserve to be the NFC favorites.
And they’re clearly the NFC’s best team.”
In Other News...
Saints Top Draft Slot Could Reshape Two Trouble Spots
With the draft board starting to take shape, the Saints are looking at a first-round decision that could help solve two of their biggest roster questions at once. Offensive tackle Zeroue Williams and edge rusher Devan Thompkins both fit areas where New Orleans could use a long-term boost, and each brings a different kind of appeal depending on how the team wants to attack the 12th pick.
Williams offers the kind of size and positional profile that can stabilize the line, while Thompkins would give the Saints another way to pressure opposing quarterbacks. The coaching staffs direction will matter here, as will how the front office weighs immediate need against overall value, but the larger point is clear: this pick could be the one that starts to reshape two trouble spots on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Pass Rush Is Suddenly Raising A Bigger Question
The Saints have found a real edge off the corner in Chase Young and Carl Granderson, and it has changed the feel of their defense this season. Young sits second in the league in sacks, Granderson is tied for fourth, and together they have become one of the NFLs most productive pass-rushing pairs. Grandersons recent run has been especially notable, with multiple sacks in four straight games, something the franchise had not seen since 2013.
For a team trying to build on its defensive identity, the obvious next question is how sustainable this surge really is. Young and Granderson have given New Orleans a legitimate weekly pressure threat, but the bigger challenge now is whether the Saints can keep getting that kind of disruption when opponents start adjusting their protections and game plans around them. [Read more 🡒]
Chase Young Is Giving The Saints Defense A New Edge
Chase Young has settled into a more prominent role since arriving in New Orleans, and the edge rusher sounds like a player who knows exactly what kind of impact he can still make. Through parts of three seasons with the Saints, he has produced 23.5 sacks, a sign that his game has found some consistency after earlier stops with Washington and San Francisco. For a defense trying to keep the Saints in the mix in a competitive NFC South, that kind of presence matters.
Young spoke confidently this week about his ability to win against blockers and about how much he has grown since his earlier years in the league. At 3-5, New Orleans still has work to do, but the Saints have reason to lean on him as one of the tone-setters on that side of the ball. The bigger question now is how far that edge can carry a defense that needs more than just flashes to stay in the hunt. [Read more 🡒]