The 49ers’ place in the USA TODAY Sports NFL power rankings is indisputable. They’re the No. 1 seed in the NFC thanks to a Seahawks win over the Cowboys, and they’re dominating in ways rarely seen in the NFL this late into a season. What’s going on behind them is interesting though.
Directly behind San Francisco are the Ravens. They’re having a really nice year and jumped from No. 3 to No. 2 with their win over the Jaguars on Sunday Night Football.
At No. 3 now are the Eagles, which jumped up one spot after their loss to the Seahawks. It appears USA TODAY power rankings author Nate Davis is banking on a late-season surge from Philly with two games against the Giants and one against the Cardinals remaining.
Rounding out the top five are No. 4 Buffalo and No. 5 Kansas City. The Chiefs stood pat after beating the Patriots, but the Bills saw a monumental climb up from the No. 8 to the No. 4 spot after they thumped the Cowboys. Dallas dropped from No. 2 to No. 7.
San Francisco is the clear-cut best team in the NFC based on the first 15 weeks. How close the Ravens are will be determined Monday when they visit Levi’s Stadium for a showdown of the top seeds in each conference.
