Week 2 NFL Power Rankings: 49ers, Raiders Still Have Plenty To Prove

The NFL power rankings following week one of the NFL season are slowly being released and we can start to get a better idea of how the 49ers and Raiders are viewed by the national media. It's only worth so much, but it still provides the perception of the team. As Jim Harbaugh said about the lack of 49ers highlights on Sunday, "It documents that...we're chopped liver out there in people's eyes."

Both teams won this week, but both teams also showed they've got work to do if they want to remain competitive for a playoff spot. The Raiders have to clean up the penalties and better establish their passing game. They beat the Broncos in part because the Broncos are not much improved from last year's team. The Raiders gave the Broncos every opportunity to climb back and win that game. Fortunately for the Raiders, their defense stepped up big time as well.

The 49ers were on the verge of blowing a 16-0 lead as the Seahawks had climbed right back into the thick of things. Fortunately for the 49ers, Ted Ginn Jr. decided to put an end to that as he absolutely blew things up with a kick return and punt return for touchdowns. The 49ers offense has a lot to work on, but 1-0 is 1-0.

The folks at SB Nation got the Week 2 NFL power rankings party started. They ranked the Raiders No. 24 and the 49ers No. 19. This first week of rankings is fairly tough to decide on. They bumped the Raiders up one spot, while moving the 49ers up eight spots. I'd argue it's just as much throwing darts at a dartboard as anything else. How else can you describe having the Raiders only one spot ahead of a Chiefs squad that looked utterly atrocious?