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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Kyle Madson

49ers beatdown of Eagles puts them back at No. 1 in USA TODAY NFL power rankings

The 49ers are back on top of the USA TODAY Sports NFL power rankings after they throttled the Eagles 42-19 in Week 13.

San Francisco entered the week No. 2 behind Philadelphia, so Sunday’s game was a battle for supremacy in the power rankings. Unfortunately for the 49ers, it didn’t give them the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They still trail the Eagles by a game.

It’s clear after 13 weeks though that the 49ers should be the Super Bowl favorite. USA TODAY’s Nate Davis explained how QB Brock Purdy is helping spearhead that charge:

Sunday’s performance in Philadelphia was proof positive that San Francisco is undoubtedly the league’s best team when all of its key parts are in the lineup. And if QB Brock Purdy isn’t careful (116.1 QB rating), he’s going to set a record as the most efficient quarterback in the bounds of a single season.

It’s hard to poke a ton of holes in the 49ers when they’re as healthy as they are and playing as well as they’ve been since the bye week. More and more it looks as though their three-game losing streak before the bye was a result of absences to key players due to injury, a couple self-inflicted on-field miscues, and a general midseason malaise more than it was a sign that there was a chink in the 49ers’ armor.

Head-to-head with the Eagles (No. 3) and Cowboys (No. 4) the 49ers have pulled out two wins with a combined score of 84-29. In Week 16 San Francisco will host the No. 2 Baltimore Ravens. A win in that game will make it impossible to argue that any team in the 2023 regular season is better than the San Francisco 49ers.

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