The San Francisco 49ers find themselves in uncharted territory after their playoff hopes were officially extinguished ahead of a disappointing 29-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, their second consecutive defeat.
At 6-9, the 49ers sit at the bottom of the NFC West, contrasting the lofty Super Bowl aspirations they carried into the season. Injuries, inconsistency, and missed opportunities have plagued a campaign that began with so much hope and potential.
The 49ers still have two games remaining, starting with a prime-time clash against the Detroit Lions on Monday night at Levi's Stadium. They'll close out the season on the road against the Arizona Cardinals in a divisional showdown.
While the playoffs are no longer in reach, these final games provide a valuable chance to assess young talent and build momentum heading into a pivotal offseason.
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.
Current Ranking: 21
Previous Ranking: 18
"Sunday's defeat to Miami wasn't another one-score loss, but it might as well have been, given that the 49ers had the ball twice with less than 10 minutes left and a chance to take the lead, until a late Dolphins touchdown put victory out of reach -- although official elimination from the playoffs came long before that moment. Miami was the better team. San Francisco, meanwhile, failed to eclipse the 18-point mark in a loss for the seventh time this season. This one must have felt incredibly familiar to Niners fans, who have seen this script play out before. Injuries, bad penalties, special-teams errors and yet another turnover all cost them another game. For seven straight contests now, the 49ers have been even or in the negative in turnover differential, and they're minus-8 in that category over their last five games combined. Four of those were losses. Deebo Samuel ran hard, seemingly wanting to atone for his big drop last week, but that was a mere consolation amid a lost season." — Eric Edholm
Sports Illustrated
Current Ranking: 21
Previous Ranking: 16
"[The 49ers need an] evil geneticist who can clone a younger Trent Williams five more times. Six total for jumbo packages." — Conor Orr
Yahoo! Sports
Current Ranking: 21
Previous Ranking: 19
"Deebo Samuel Sr. had 121 total yards, a season best vs. the Dolphins. He scored his first touchdown since Oct. 10. It has been a horrible season for Samuel and the 49ers. Sunday provided hope that Samuel can rebound next season, when he'll be 29 years old." — Frank Schwab
The 33rd Team
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 20
"The San Francisco 49ers have been eliminated from the playoffs, and they sure played like it in Week 16. The defense continues to get gashed on the ground, and the offense just hasn't looked explosive in most contests. This will be a fascinating offseason for the 49ers as they try to figure out how to extend their Super Bowl window." — Marcus Mosher
The Athletic
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 21
"After three consecutive trips to at least the conference championship game, San Francisco is guaranteed a losing season after Sunday's loss. If Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk return at full strength next year and the 49ers get a deal done with Brock Purdy, San Francisco might be right back in the fray next season. Or the wear and tear of keeping this thing going the last three years might have worn this franchise down. The 49ers have lost five of six." — Josh Kendall
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 19
"The 49ers were eliminated on Sunday and are now fully focused on the upcoming offseason. San Francisco showed against Miami that it's willing to keep fighting, but injuries have made this team average at best. The 49ers are running out of healthy ball-carriers, lost linebacker Dre Greenlaw to a calf injury and were forced to turn to Spencer Burford at left tackle on Sunday.—then watched him exit with a leg injury, along with guard Aaron Banks. San Francisco might be good again in 2025—if it can get and stay healthy—but it probably doesn't have enough talent left to put up a fight against Detroit next Monday night." — Kristopher Knox
ESPN
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 19
"Rookie of the year: Offensive lineman Dominick Puni. Puni has been an instant success on an otherwise struggling offensive line. Through 16 games, he's tied for 12th in pass block win rate (93.7%) and ninth in run block win rate (73.9%) among all guards. The Niners have plenty of other holes to fill on their offensive line in the offseason, but they can take some solace in the fact that Puni has consistently performed since claiming the starting job in training camp." — Nick Wagoner
Pro Football Talk
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 20
"They need to hit the reset button." — Mike Florio
Sporting News
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 17
"Brock Purdy will still get his big contract because he's kept the offense together despite getting less help from the defense with each passing week. That unit needs some key personnel and schematic changes." — Vinnie Iyer
The Ringer
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 16
"Because I can't see a world in which San Francisco hits the reset button at quarterback again, Brock Purdy is likely in line for a lucrative long-term extension this offseason. At the lowest end, he'll command around 20 percent of the salary cap, something in the range of $55-60 million in annual salary. When the quarterback is no longer the team's cheapest starter, there might not be enough cash to go around for the veterans on big contracts. That means big changes could be coming to this roster, and if GM John Lynch is smart, he'll focus his efforts this offseason on improving the offensive line and a finding ways to provide Purdy with some easy buttons in this offense." — Diante Lee
Current Ranking: 22
Previous Ranking: 19
"Though he's hardly playing like "Mr. Irrelevant," QB Brock Purdy has had easily his least impressive season in 2024. Should be fascinating to see how that impacts his pending window to negotiate a deserved contract extension." — Nate Davis
CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 23
Previous Ranking: 20
"The season full of misery is done. The injuries did this team in early this season and they never recovered. What a disappointment." — Pete Prisco
