NFL Power Rankings: San Francisco 49ers and 3 Teams Vaulting Up the Rankings

Are the San Francisco 49ers for real? They just pulled off one of the great comebacks of the season against the Eagles, and now boost an impressive 3-1 record and a commanding lead in the NFC West.

Led by linebacker Patrick Willis, the run-defense has been spectacular, and right now they are giving up a mere 74 yards a game on the ground for fourth-best in the NFL.

Sure, the 49ers' offense isn’t great,—in fact it's in the bottom-third of the league—but that doesn’t matter when your defense can shut down the running game.

The team is finding new ways to win every week and is quickly creating some huge separation in the less-than-competitive NFC West. The 49ers are creeping their way up the rankings and now find themselves at No. 12.

Here are two other teams that are on the rise after an impressive Week 4:

No. 8 San Diego Chargers

What’s your biggest criticism for the ‘Bolts right?

They've played an easy schedule?

This team is off to a rock-solid start, and I could care less that their three wins over the Vikings, Chiefs and Dolphins have come by a combined 20 points. This isn’t college football; a win is a win.

QB Philip Rivers isn't having his greatest season, yet the Chargers still rank sixth overall in the passing game.

TE Antonio Gates is still not healthy, and the offense has yet to reach its potential. They already got over the slow start hump and will only be getting stronger as the season goes along.

Expect the Chargers to be a top 10 team for the remainder of the season.

No. 9 Washington Redskins

How many more games do the 'Skins need to win before you start taking them seriously?

They controlled the game from start to finish on Sunday against a desperate Rams team and are now sporting one of the top defenses in the league.

Washington is eighth against the pass, allowing a mere 212 yards, and sixth against the rush, allowing 84.5 a game. They have the perfect mix of veterans with London Fletcher and DeAngelo Hall, and young guys such as Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo.

The results are first place in the NFC East, and I don’t expect them to relinquish the top spot anytime soon.

This team is for real.

Eric Ball’s NFL Week 5 Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. Baltimore Ravens

3. New Orleans Saints

4. Detroit Lions

5. New England Patriots

6. Houston Texans

7. Tennessee Titans

8. San Diego Chargers

9. Washington Redskins

10. Buffalo Bills

11. New York Giants

12. San Francisco 49ers

13. Atlanta Falcons

14. Oakland Raiders

15. New York Jets

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

17. Chicago Bears

18. Dallas Cowboys

19. Pittsburgh Steelers

20. Cincinnati Bengals

21. Philadelphia Eagles

22. Arizona Cardinals

23. Cleveland Browns

24. Seattle Seahawks

25. Carolina Panthers

26. Denver Broncos

27. Kansas City Chiefs

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

29. St. Louis Rams

30. Miami Dolphins

31. Minnesota Vikings

32. Indianapolis Colts