NFL Rankings: Where the 49ers Stand After Blowout Over the Jets

NFL Rankings: Where the 49ers Stand After Blowout Over the Jets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It’s here, it’s arrived, and it’s beautiful. For the most part.

Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season was eventful. And telling. The top favorites lived up to their preseason hype, the bottom feeders were generally tough to watch, rookie debuts were a mixed bag, and key players on contending teams were left with injuries.

Here’s where the 49ers and the rest of the league stand after San Francisco’s convincing 32-19 “Monday Night Football” win:

Disgusting. Next.

Daniel Jones stinks. The “revamped” offensive line and defense were mediocre. More of the same for Big Blue this season? Poor Malik Nabers.

Bo Nix completed 26 passes for 138 yards. Yuck. The defense is average, but this offense could be terrible.

No matter how inconsistent the Bengals are right now, a win over a Super Bowl contender is impressive. It could be the highlight of New England’s season.

Gardner Minshew is serviceable and as long as he gets Davante Adams the ball, there won’t be much drama. There won’t be many wins either. This team is not good.

Will Levis probably isn’t the answer, but Tennessee has to sit this out and see. It’s going to be a season of ups and downs. Mostly downs.

A very nice debut for Jayden Daniels, who looks like Lamar Jackson lite. That defense …

Sam Darnold truthers, stand up. He’s no Kirk Cousins, but he should be able to keep this offense afloat. Expectations still aren’t high, but this could be a fun team to root for.

Kyler Murray and the Birds started out strong, but that defense killed all their momentum. Expect a lot of shootouts this season.

Please give Justin Herbert some proven weapons in the passing game. This team is built to win now, but the offense doesn’t reflect that. Luckily for Jim Harbaugh and co., JK Dobbins appears healthy. Please don’t let that be a curse.

The defense kept Trevor Lawrence in the game, but he didn’t do much with it. I have serious doubts that he is worth $55 million a year.

Geno Smith is still very average. They will go as far as that running game takes them. They beat a bad team, the jury is still out.

Caleb Williams didn’t fare well in his first taste of real NFL action, but was bailed out with two touchdowns by his elite defense. Rookie nerves?

A tough start for Captain Kirk and the attack. But now that I’ve had the Achilles injury, I’m giving them a pass. For now.

There are about a million things I’d rather do than watch Deshaun Watson play football. Luckily for the Browns, their defense should keep them in almost every game. This wasn’t one of those games. They got screwed.

The offense looked great, but Jordan Love’s injury will unfortunately drop them significantly in the rankings. Just keep treading water with Malik Willis.

The Panthers’ brakes aren’t impressive, but the offense looks really good. The Saints are playful.

Anthony Richardson is great. Keep him out there and don’t look back. That run defense, by the way… yikes.

Baker Mayfield cooked. Last year was no fluke. Just an overall decent team.

13. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 12)

Scoring just 10 points against the Patriots is dirty work. The vibes in Cincy are bad right now, but the Bengals have a history of slow starts. It will be fixed.

Justin Fields replaced Russell Wilson and played well. TJ Watt began his annual Defensive Player of the Year campaign. This is a fairly even team, but it won’t be the last we hear of this quarterback controversy. Is there one?

Injuries to two key offensive linemen and Puka Nacua are a big concern. When healthy, they are a good team, but the defense is still a concern.

It turns out that Josh Allen can do it all. Can he do it with a mediocre supporting cast? It seems that way.

Aaron Rodgers hadn’t played more than four snaps in over a year. It was a mixed bag for New York, both offensively and defensively, but we finally got to see just how deadly the future Pro Football Hall of Famer can be with Garrett Wilson. At least in the first half. Give it time, Jets fans.

Miami-Dade police did what the Jags defense couldn’t: contain Tyreek Hill. The Dolphins’ offense started sluggishly, but got back into shape and squeaked out a walk-off win.

CJ Stroud and his receiving core were as advertised and Joe Mixon seems like an early offseason steal. This offense with a competent run game is a scary thought. I do have some minor reservations about their secondary though.

Dak Prescott secured the bag and showed why he is a wise investment. At least in the regular season. The defense made Watson and the Browns look ridiculous. Not hard to do.

Jared Goff and the offense were less than impressive against a mediocre Rams defense, but still pulled off the win in overtime. Was it a blip?

Saquon Barkley behind a good offensive line is unfair. The defense was OK, but not great. That may not matter this season. They will be in the dogfight for the top seed.

They say it’s a game of inches, right? What a painful way to lose. Derrick Henry may have lost a step, but that shouldn’t be a problem when Lamar Jackson rushes for 122 yards. They lost to the champs, so no big deal.

2. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 2)

The surprise scratch of Christian McCaffrey was cause for concern for those who had forgotten how loaded the 49ers offense is. Have a nice day, Jordan Mason and Jake Moody. The NFL’s best roster dominated all facets of the game in primetime. The awful offseason vibes are a thing of the past.

The reigning champions looked great on both sides of the ball. And shame on the other 31 teams for drafting Xavier Worthy. Really?

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