“The worst may be yet to come”: Week 14 power rankings analyze fall of the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers' playoff chances took a significant hit Sunday following a 35-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. The defeat dropped San Francisco to 5-7 on the season and kept the team in last place in the NFC West, two games behind the division-leading Seattle Seahawks with five games remaining.

The loss was compounded by injuries to running backs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason, both headed to injured reserve. McCaffrey suffered a PCL injury, while Mason was sidelined with a high-ankle sprain.

With time running out and a depleted roster, the 49ers face a daunting challenge in the final stretch of the season—a finish that could set the tone for next year.

What does the national media think about the 49ers compared to the rest of the league? Below is a sample of some of the most prominent power rankings from around the web, showing where San Francisco currently stands in each. As always, the highest rankings are listed first.

The Ringer
Current Ranking: 14
Previous Ranking: 13

"In the team's second straight blowout loss, San Francisco may have also lost running back McCaffrey to a season-ending knee injury—less than a month after he returned to the starting lineup. Now this offense will be playing do-or-die football without one of its most explosive players, quarterback Brock Purdy has regressed in the second half of the season, and the defense is playing some of its worst football in the Kyle Shanahan era. This year went from unlucky to terrible quickly, and the worst may be yet to come." — Diante Lee

"The 49ers have become an injury-riddled, unrecognizable mess on both sides of the ball. They are just missing too many key pieces even with Brock Purdy back. They are down to flashing a tiny bit of last year's NFC champions." — Vinnie Iyer

Pro Football Talk
Current Ranking: 18
Previous Ranking: 15

"They're running out of time to get back on track." — Mike Florio

Yahoo! Sports
Current Ranking: 18
Previous Ranking: 18

"It's stunning that the 49ers, who were favored to win the Super Bowl for much of the offseason, are practically irrelevant for the rest of the season. They're in last place in the NFC West. Christian McCaffrey is out with a knee injury. This has been an unexpected mess." — Frank Schwab

Bleacher Report
Current Ranking: 19
Previous Ranking: 19

"Injuries have completely derailed Christian McCaffrey's season. First, the running back suffered from bilateral Achilles tendinitis. During Sunday's contest against the Buffalo Bills, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year seemed to have injured a PCL in his knee, which could cost him the rest of the season. Considering the Niners currently own a 5-7 record and find themselves 2.5 games behind the Washington Commanders for the NFC's seventh playoff seed, another McCaffrey malady seems to place a bow on what turned out to be a disappointing campaign." — Brent Sobleski

Sports Illustrated
Current Ranking: 19
Previous Ranking: 17

"The 49ers were uniquely hampered by the snow, it seemed, with players sliding and trying to sure-foot a lot of the backfield motions that normally populate this offense. C and D gap runs are more difficult to execute than inside runs, and Buffalo's interior did a nice job of preventing damaging runs up the gut. I think we can probably bid this team adieu as it heads into a pivotal back end of this season and even more pivotal 2025 offseason in which it must decide how close it really is to another Super Bowl." — Conor Orr

"It's time to stick a fork in the San Francisco 49ers. They suffered another 20+ point loss and likely lost Christian McCaffrey (PCL) for the season. They have had too many injuries to overcome this season, and their lack of tiebreakers in the division put them at a distant fourth in the NFC West. With a difficult schedule remaining, it's fair to wonder just how many more wins they'll get this year." — Marcus Mosher

CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 20
Previous Ranking: 18

"The injuries have crippled this team and now Christian McCaffery is done. They are all but done, too." — Pete Prisco

NFL.com
Current Ranking: 20
Previous Ranking: 18

"The Niners remain nominally in the race, especially with no one pulling away in the NFC West. But we can tell what time it is. The season felt all but over prior to Sunday's loss at Buffalo, and the loss plus the PCL injury to Christian McCaffrey cemented that feeling. It's really hard to see this team going 4-1 or 5-0 down the stretch with the shape it's in. November and December typically are when Kyle Shanahan's teams thrive, but the 49ers are now 1-3 since the bye, scoring 17 points or fewer in three straight games and allowing 73 over their past two road games. The 49ers lost three fumbles Sunday night and were run over by the Bills to the tune of 220 yards on the ground. It wasn't pretty. It's feeling more like the go-nowhere 2020 season with each passing week." — Eric Edholm

ESPN
Current Ranking: 21
Previous Ranking: 18

"First-time Pro Bowl nominee: Offensive lineman Dominick Puni. The rookie guard has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season for the Niners. Puni ranks in the top 15 among NFL guards in both pass block win rate (93.7%) and run block win rate (74.3%). There have been some hiccups along the way, but Puni has all the makings of a perennial Pro Bowler even if he doesn't make it in his first season." — Nick Wagoner

USA Today
Current Ranking: 21
Previous Ranking: 19

"It's legitimately been a tragic season, LT Trent Williams and CB Charvarius Ward both losing children in recent weeks. Between the lines, a sinking team's most reliable play Sunday night was a Deebo Samuel Sr. kickoff return – which averaged 34.7 yards. The fact he had six of them tells you all you need to know about how the snow job in Buffalo went otherwise." — Nate Davis

"After three straight seasons of advancing to the NFC Championship Game or beyond, the 49ers look broken, particularly after Kyle Shanahan announced Christian McCaffrey appears to have suffered a season-ending knee injury. It's been that kind of season for the 49ers, who got 94 passing yards out of Brock Purdy against the Bills. San Francisco is 19th in point differential (minus-25). That's on pace to be its worst since 2018, Shanahan's second season." — Josh Kendall