As other NFC contenders stumble, the San Francisco 49ers continue to secure victories. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles were less fortunate, facing losses in their Week 15 matchups. Dallas saw the end of its five-game winning streak with a loss to the Buffalo Bills, while Philadelphia has now endured three consecutive defeats, the latest being on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks.
San Francisco sits atop the NFC standings, leading the race for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
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Averaging 402.6 yards per game, the 49ers offense ranks second in the NFL. It also places second in passing yards per game (262.6) and third in rushing yards per game (139.9). The unit is on pace for 6,844 total yards this season.
The 49ers defense is allowing 310.1 yards per game, ranking ninth in the NFL, while taking the third spot in rushing yards allowed (89.4 per game).
Quarterback Brock Purdy remains on track to set a new franchise record for passing yards. He is just 205 yards away from becoming the first 49ers quarterback to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a single season since Jeff Garcia did so in 2000.
The 49ers face a significant test ahead as they prepare to host the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas night. It's a matchup that many are labeling as a potential Super Bowl preview. They will then travel to face the Washington Commanders before returning home for their regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
What does the national media think about the Niners' roster compared to the rest of the league? Below are samples from some of the more prominent power rankings around the web and where San Francisco currently stands within each. As always, the highest rankings are listed first (which, for the third consecutive week, doesn't mean anything).
The Athletic
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"We've let all the talk about whether the second-year quarterback is a top-10 quarterback in the league or even possibly the MVP obscure what remains at its heart the most remarkable story in the league. Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 draft, is now 16-3 as a starting quarterback. His passer rating (119) and expected points added per dropback (.32) lead the NFL and both would rank among the top five in the last 10 years in the league, according to TruMedia." — Josh Kendall
Bleacher Report
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"After taking care of the Arizona Cardinals for their sixth consecutive victory, the 49ers are champions of the NFC West for the second consecutive season. It's the first time the team has repeated as division champions in over a decade. ... This was a game where McCaffrey gouged Arizona for 187 total yards and three scores. Quarterback Brock Purdy continued making his MVP case, tossing four touchdown passes. The Cardinals piled up 436 yards of offense, but a sizable chunk of that came with the game well out of hand. Now comes a chance for the Niners to really make a statement. On Christmas night, the Baltimore Ravens will travel to Santa Clara to face the 49ers in a battle of the top seeds in each conference. The winner of that game will have to be viewed as the favorite to win Super Bowl LVIII." — NFL Staff
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"They already clinched the division, and it looks like the top seed in the conference will also be theirs. The Ravens game this week will be a physical war." — Pete Prisco
ESPN
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"The Niners lead the NFL in plenty of important categories, but nothing matters more than the score. San Francisco is plus-191 on the year, 24 points clear of Dallas, which ranks second. What's more, the 49ers haven't just been beating up on the dregs of the NFL. They've beaten contenders like the Cowboys, Eagles and Jaguars by a combined 86 points. Were it not for a meaningless last-second field goal by the Rams in Week 2, all of the Niners' 11 wins would be by double digits." — Nick Wagoner
NFL.com
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"It's nice to have a solid but unremarkable showing and still beat a division foe on the road by 16 -- and it easily could have been more. The 49ers locked up the NFC West and are steamrolling toward the No. 1 seed in the conference. This coming Monday's game against the Ravens will be a terrific playoff tune-up, but the 49ers had better hope that DTs Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead can return from injury because the run defense was lacking in their absence against the Cardinals. Arizona ran for more than 100 yards in each half against the 49ers, with its two longest gains in the game -- 49 and 44 yards -- coming on the ground. That's a significant part of Baltimore's formula for victory, so San Francisco has a chance to address one of the few big concerns with the team prior to the postseason." — Eric Edholm
Pro Football Talk
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"The path to the No. 1 seed gets easier and easier all the time." — Mike Florio
The Ringer
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"Is Brock Purdy the MVP? How about Christian McCaffrey? Or is CMC just the Offensive Player of the Year? What about Kyle Shanahan, could he win coach of the year? However you slice it, the 49ers have a stellar offense; they look primed to earn not just individual trophies for their many star contributors, but a Lombardi trophy as well. A Monday night showdown with the Ravens next week is the last big stress test for this team—and could also potentially be a Super Bowl preview—before the playoffs." — Riley McAtee
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"One aspect of the 49ers' operation that impresses me is the team's ability to kind of function on its own. I'm not removing any credit from Kyle Shanahan here, but Christian McCaffrey can, before the snap, identify that he's in man coverage, he can see who is playing man coverage on him, and he can then proceed to, with knowledge of the supporting routes, design his own route that will nestle into open space and give him an opening to catch a ball. But … imagine that level of intuitiveness with four different elite weapons all at once." — Conor Orr
Sporting News
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"The 49ers kept their offense rolling with Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey looking like they should be co-NFL MVPs. They easily clipped the wings of the Seahawks, Eagles and Cardinals of late to make it six consecutive wins after the bye and now will try to do the same vs. the Ravens in a possible Super Bowl preview." — Vinnie Iyer
Touchdown Wire
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"The 49ers have two MVP candidates on their offense, meaning three of the leading candidates for MVP will be on display next Monday on Christmas as the league's two best teams square off." — Jarrett Bailey
USA Today
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"Back-to-back division champions for the first time in 11 years, they've now won 12 straight against NFC West competition. But their quest to lock up the conference's No. 1 seed could hit a serious speed bump on Christmas night against the AFC's top-ranked Ravens." — Nate Davis
Yahoo! Sports
Current Ranking: 1
Previous Rank: 1
"I'd have no problem with Christian McCaffrey getting MVP votes. He has been electric. It's also going to get very interesting if the 49ers keep talking about him as MVP over Brock Purdy. Purdy did that on Sunday, and then on Monday it was George Kittle telling Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein that CMC should be MVP." — Frank Schwab
