The Seattle Seahawks rose from No. 26 to No. 21 in this week’s ESPN NFL power rankings. The team they beat on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers, fell from No. 13 to No. 20.
Mike Sando of ESPN.com explains that offseason impressions trumped on-field results in these rankings.
One week isn’t much to go on, but it’s all we’ve got beyond the perceptions — and misperceptions — built up over the NFL offseason. The Texans, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs remained lower-ranked than teams they defeated.
The Seahawks’ performance against the San Francisco 49ers showed they could function offensively against a strong defensive front seven despite playing with a left tackle acquired about a week earlier.