There is no denying it anymore. The San Francisco 49ers are the best team in the NFL.
The New England Patriots got shredded Sunday night by the Baltimore Ravens, leaving the 49ers as the only undefeated team. For weeks, many, myself included, wondered if the 49ers really were one of the NFL's best.
We can't wonder anymore.
They are the best – for now.
Kyle Shanahan's group has been impressive. The defense has carried the team, but the run game on offense is as good as any in the league. The one unknown was whether they could throw it well enough.
Jimmy Garoppolo answered that question last week with a four-touchdown game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Week 9 is in the books and there's a lot to go over. Fortunately Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough are here to break everything down on the latest episode of the Pick Six Podcast. Listen to the full show below and be sure to subscribe right here for daily NFL goodness.
The 49ers play a tough game this week on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson, who is the MVP as of right now. That defense will be tested for sure.
They head to that game as the best team in the NFL, the last undefeated team in the league, which is the surprise of the first half. That has them now in the top spot of my Power Rankings this week, which is a big improvement from where they started the season.
The 49ers will lose somewhere along the way, but the scary thing is they've done this without being close to full force. Injuries have hit the offensive line in a big way, yet they've played through it with success.
That's why Shanahan is a legitimate coach of the year candidate. He's done an outstanding job getting his team to the top.
Now comes the tough part: Keeping it there.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | If they can get Jimmy Garoppolo to play like he did against the Cardinals, they can be a real Super Bowl contender. He was outstanding. | 1 | 5-5-0 |
| 2 |  | They come off their bye with a division game against the Falcons and a healthier Drew Brees. That's always a good thing. | 1 | 4-7-0 |
| 3 |  | Lamar Jackson is a legitimate MVP candidate. What they did to New England was impressive. | 2 | 7-4-0 |
| 4 |  | It's just one loss, but they looked really bad on defense against the Ravens. That won't happen again. They will use that loss as motivation. | 3 | 3-8-0 |
| 5 |  | That was a terrible showing against the Chargers. The offensive line got whipped and Aaron Rodgers was off in a big way. | 1 | 7-3-0 |
| 6 |  | Russell Wilson got back on track in his quest to be the MVP against the Bucs. The defense has to be better going forward. | 1 | 5-5-0 |
| 7 |  | It wasn't always pretty against the Giants, but the offense came alive. That's two games in a row heading into a big one against the Vikings defense. | 2 | 3-7-0 |
| 8 |  | They come off their bye with a tough road game against a Steelers team that is better on defense. Can Jared Goff keep his pre-bye roll going? | 2 | 5-5-0 |
| 9 |  | They are 6-2 and clearly in the playoff race. Yet you get the impression few people believe in them. They should. | 2 | 9-2-0 |
| 10 |  | That was an impressive victory against the Vikings without Patrick Mahomes. He should be back soon, which is when things get back to normal. | 5 | 9-1-0 |
| 11 |  | At some point, they have to win games like they lost in Kansas City. You can't lose to the Chiefs with a backup passer and now comes a tough one at Dallas. | 5 | 8-2-0 |
| 12 |  | The Jacoby Brissett injury isn't bad, which is a good thing. Brian Hoyer is in for the short term. | 4 | 5-6-0 |
| 13 |  | That was a nice bounce-back game against the Titans. Christian McCaffrey is in the MVP race for sure. | 1 | 3-7-0 |
| 14 |  | At 6-3, they head to their bye tied for the division lead. That was a nice victory against the Jaguars in London. | 1 | 7-4-0 |
| 15 |  | Don't look now but the Raiders are 4-4 heading into a big Thursday night game with the Chargers. The offense has come alive. | 2 | 2-8-0 |
| 16 |  | Two straight victories has the Eagles back thinking playoffs after a bad start. They have fixed some of those defensive issues. | 2 | 8-2-0 |
| 17 |  | At 4-4, they are in the division race after the bad start. The defense has really made improvements. | 2 | 8-2-0 |
| 18 |  | That was a season-saving victory against the Packers. Now they face a tough turnaround with a road game against the Raiders. | 3 | 7-3-0 |
| 19 |  | After London, they get a bye and a week to decide who will be the quarterback going forward. The guess is it will be Nick Foles in the next game against the Colts. | 5 | 2-9-0 |
| 20 |  | That fast start seems like a long time ago with all the recent losing. Their defense isn't good enough. | 4 | 9-1-0 |
| 21 |  | Ryan Tannehill lost for the first time Sunday, but it wasn't on him. The defense had a rough go of it. | 1 | 2-8-0 |
| 22 |  | The offense is way too limited, which is why this team won't be in the playoffs. Even the defense is tailing off some now. | -- | 4-6-0 |
| 23 |  | They've improved as the season moved along and really pushed the 49ers last Thursday. They have a winnable game against former coach Bruce Arians and the Bucs this week. | 1 | 6-4-0 |
| 24 |  | Brandon Allen did some really good things in his first NFL start, leading the Broncos to a victory over the Browns. With Joe Flacco out for a while, it's his team. | 1 | 6-5-0 |
| 25 |  | At 2-6, all that preseason hype seems like a big waste of time. They aren't going anywhere this season. | 2 | 2-8-0 |
| 26 |  | They competed against the Cowboys, which is another good sign. They just aren't good enough to win those types of games yet. | -- | 2-8-0 |
| 27 |  | The defense isn't very good right now, which is why they aren't winning games. Now here comes Kyler Murray. | -- | 4-6-0 |
| 28 |  | Dwayne Haskins wasn't awful in his first start, but he needs to throw it down the field more. That will come. | -- | 7-4-0 |
| 29 |  | They won a game. They won a game. They won a game. Wow. | 3 | 4-6-0 |
| 30 |  | They come off the bye with major questions about whether their coach will make it through the season. They will do so against division-rival New Orleans, which won't be easy. | -- | 6-5-0 |
| 31 |  | Losing to the Dolphins is a bad look. This team is a disaster right now. | 2 | 3-8-0 |
| 32 |  | It's time for Ryan Finley as they come off the bye. Will he liven up the offense? It won't be easy with the line in front of him. | 1 | 4-7-0 |
