NFL Power Rankings Week 15: 49ers Slowly Climbing

December 14, 2010   ·   Adam Lazarus   ·   Jump to comments

Team: San Francisco 49ers
Rank: 20th
Last Week Rank: 25th
The 49ers completely outplayed the NFC West co-leading Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. They are again a serious contender to win the putrid division.
Defeating Seattle at home is not a tremendous achievement: how much of those five turnovers were Matt Hasselbeck mistakes and not really great defensive plays?
But Alex Smith was remarkably efficient against a pretty good Seattle defense, and rookie Anthony Dixon is doing a nice job in place of Frank Gore.
Still, it has to be a little bit disturbing that their leading receiver was Brian Westbrook. Part of Smith's problem was getting the ball down field, and since Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree combined for just six catches and 71 yards, that needs to improve.
They'll need to defeat San Diego on Thursday night to prove they are a playoff worthy team, but if Smith plays well and they force turnovers again, they'll have a chance.
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