Bleacher Report Ranks Raiders, 49ers In Preseason Week 3 Power Rankings
Another Monday has come and another preseason week has flown by.
Heading into the final days of the NFL preseason, Bleacher Report's Chris Simms has updated his annual NFL power rankings list.
Both the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers have made some moves on the list despite both suffering losses during the preseason's week 3.
We'll start with the 49ers, who are coming off last second 32-31 loss to the Minnesota Vikings for the season's first Sunday Night Football presentation on NBC.
Despite the comeback loss, which occurred in the second half after the first string was well off the field, the 49ers looked good.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer completed 12 of 17 passes for 176 yards and two TDs. That's a big improvement over his appearances during the first two preseason games.
The defense held the first string offense scoreless in the first half, which provided evidence that this young starting squad could be a brick wall in the near future.
Out of 32 teams, Simms has the 49ers ranked as no. 27 and two spots higher than last week. He notes that the team looked good, especially Hoyer, but at admits it's an unfinished product.
The team is still trying to mix and match players along the front seven to find the right combination for Robert Saleh's Seattle-style defense...
...There's enough speed and a good enough running game that Shanahan should be able to set up a few big plays every game. The question is whether Hoyer can capitalize on those opportunities. He looked great against the Minnesota Vikings, but I need to see a bit more before I'm sold.
There is talent on this team on both sides of the ball. However, it could take some time for all of the pieces to come together.
Now time to move to the East Bay. Despite starting 0-3 in the preseason, the Oakland Raiders continue to be high on Simms' list.
The Raiders faced the Cowboys on Saturday and suffered a 24-20 loss after rookie QB Cooper Rush completed a 44-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.
The secondary still has some questions looming over their heads but there's no doubt QB Derek Carr is the man in Oakland. He completed 13 of 17 passses for 144 yards and two TDs.
A highlight was a Carr pass to Amari Cooper for a deep 48-yard TD.
Simms actually has them at no. 5, one spot up from last week.
Listen, I still don't feel great about the Oakland Raiders defense. Nothing about the team's performance against the first-team Cowboys offense makes me feel warmer and cozier about it, either...
...What makes the Raiders the Raiders right now, though, is the offense and quarterback Derek Carr.
Carr is going to be in the MVP conversation again this season. He's officially one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL, and everyone needs to get used to it.
You can view the full list of rankings here.
