Power rankings: 49ers are at the top of The Times’ NFL list

We’re a little late getting to the inaugural Times NFL power ratings, but here they are, after Week 2 of the NFL season. Staff writer Lance Pugmire starts off with, no great surprise, the San Francisco 49ers as the No. 1 team.

Figure that these rankings will go through quite a bit of shuffling as the season goes on.

Why? There’s a lot of middle ground here. Of 32 teams, only six won their first two games; only six lost their first two games, which means 20 teams are at .500.

FULL LIST: The Times’ NFL power rankings

Pugmire likes the 49ers as an early favorite to reach the Super Bowl, and Alex Smith is looking like the kind of quarterback who can take them there. He hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 216 passes.

For those die-hard fans of teams that entered the season with optimism but not a lot of talent, well, it could be a long season ahead. Oakland and Jacksonville, teams that at least some point had been rumored to be interested in moving to L.A., don’t appear to be headed anywhere in the NFL standings. On the bright side, they can’t sink any lower.

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Some good games coming up in Week 3 that could alter things: the Giants at Carolina Thursday night, unbeaten Houston at 1-1 Denver, and Atlanta at San Diego in a battle of unbeatens.

What do you think about the rankings? Who would be your No. 1 team?

FULL LIST: The Times’ NFL power rankings