NFL Power Rankings, Week 12: Rams bounce back with win over Bears

1. San Francisco 49ers (1)

One can only imagine the panic that would have been sinking in for the San Francisco 49ers if they suffered a second loss in a row on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals.

And while the contest turned out to be closer than originally expected, all that matters for San Francisco is the team found a way to win in order to remain in first place when it comes to the NFC playoff picture.

Back on Halloween, the 49ers received a bit of a scare against their division rivals, and while San Francisco seemed like they would have an extra advantage by playing this one at home, it almost didn’t matter.

Between the defense struggling to keep Kyler Murray in check along with the ground game failing to get anything consistent going, there were numerous reasons behind this game turning out to be closer than expected for 49ers.

At least once again, Jimmy Garoppolo found a way to pick apart the defense of the Cardinals by finishing with four touchdown passes, giving the quarterback eight total on the season in the two games against Arizona.

Garoppolo’s play is just one of many reasons behind the success of the 49ers in 2019, and with more games like this, earning that top seed seems more likely to happen.