Tuesday morning following Monday Night Football, NFL power rankings are released across the Internet. The rankings give the media a chance to chime in on how a team is looking at a given point in the season. Since it is how things look at a given point, early season power rankings likely carry less weight than later season power rankings. With no significant body of work to build on, much of the early season power rankings are slightly less than educated guesses.
While SB Nation's NFL Power Rankings had the Oakland Raiders a bit further down from the San Francisco 49ers, the CBS Sports NFL Power Rankings have our Bay Area football teams bunched up. CBS has the Raiders at No. 19 and and the 49ers at No. 20.
In their comment about the Raiders they point to the Oakland rushing attack and the speed the team brings to the field. The speed angle is a bit of a cliche at this point, but the Raiders rushing game is what will carry their offense. Jason Campbell is a solid quarterback who can make plays, but they will go as far as their rushing game will carry them.
In the comment about the 49ers, CBS Sports points to the offensive struggles. The 49ers rode strong defense and special teams to victory against Seattle, with the offensive highlight being Alex Smith's touchdown and no turnovers. The offense will need to provide more punch if the 49ers are going to hang with the likes of the Dallas Cowboys in week two.