49ers Disrespected in Latest ESPN NFL Power Rankings

The San Francisco 49ers have made the NFC Championship game in two of the last three seasons and continue to prove that they can play winning football under head coach Kyle Shanahan. It comes as a bit of a shock to see them get disrespected in a big way by ESPN's latest NFL power rankings.

2022 Football Power Index ratings and rankings!

The rating itself indicates approximately how much better or worse -- in points -- that team is predicted to be, relative to an average NFL team on a neutral field.

It is a predictive rating. pic.twitter.com/9oDRKm8nKR
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) May 17, 2022

San Francisco 49ers Power Rankings

ESPN released a list compiled by its Football Power Index (FPI) rating and San Francisco checks in all the way down at No. 24. Suggesting the 49ers are on the same level as the Detroit Lions (No. 23) and New York Giants (No. 22) seems laughable considering those two combined for seven wins in 2021.

Of course, the 49ers' offseason has been centered around a quarterback battle as well as the playing future of standout weapon Deebo Samuel. Second-year pro Trey Lance looks poised to take over as the starter and his rushing capabilities unlock a whole new facet for Shanahan to take advantage of.

None of the controversy on offense takes away from the fact that San Francisco still owns a defense capable of shutting teams down on a weekly basis. The 49ers posted the seventh-best total DVOA rating last season and allowed only 20.6 points per game (No. 5 in NFL).

San Francisco is one of the only teams left in the NFL that loves to slow things down and play methodically on both sides of the ball. It makes the 49ers a tough team to prepare for and certainly one capable of making some noise in the NFC West.

For now, Shanahan's squad is tied for the sixth-best odds to win Super Bowl 57 at +1600, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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