NFL Power Rankings: 49ers make leap, Raiders have small gain

The San Francisco 49ers made a case for being the best team in the NFL, and the Week 16 NFL power rankings across the web showed it. Meanwhile, the Oakland Raiders' win against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs kept them steady in the rankings.

The 49ers went into New England and beat the Patriots, 41-34, behind the arm of Colin Kaepernick, and the Raiders avoided embarrassment by beating the Chiefs 15-0 on Sunday.

ESPN ranked the 49ers as the best NFL team and leapfrogged San Francisco over the Broncos, Texans and Patriots. Yahoo!'s Brian McIntyre also ranked the 49ers atop the NFL following their road win.

Joel Thorman of SB Nation is still skeptical of the 49ers and ranked them No. 3 behind the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons. His pick came down to a toss-up between the three teams.

As for Oakland, the three power rankings spotted the Raiders anywhere from 28th to 31st. Thorman ranked the Raiders 28th after their win against the Chiefs, while McIntyre placed them at No. 31. ESPN has the Raiders at No. 30, and they note that the team has been outscored 200-95 in six road games.