Despite a relative lack of dynamic skill-position players on offense, a porous offensive line, and a journeyman quarterback, the winless 49ers have played in -- and lost -- five-straight close games.

Kyle Shanahan has done fine work thus far in his first year as a head coach, and San Francisco's defense has shown glimpses of effectiveness. That unit is currently 24th in Football Outsiders DVOA, but 13th in run defense.

This underdog 49ers team gets the Cowboys, at home, in the midst of the Ezekiel Elliott legal fiasco and after a surprising 2-4 start. Is this the week Shanahan's squad get its first win?

Before I start ... here's a look at the current 2018 NFL Draft order. I used SportsLine's updated projected win totals as tiebreakers. This order will change a lot.

Draft Order

These Week 7 games have the most bearing on the race for the No. 1 pick.

Cowboys at 49ers

This game needs John Madden and the late, great Pat Summerall on the call, just for '90s nostalgia, doesn't it? As I'm writing this, the back-and-forth-and-back-again Zeke Elliott saga has the Cowboys running back set to play Sunday. That's kind of important. Did you know last week the 49ers became the first team in NFL history to lose five consecutive games by three points or less? So it's like San Francisco is a good bad team. And is this a "trap" game for the Cowboys? After their trip to the Bay Area, Dallas goes to D.C. to take on the Redskins, then hosts the Chiefs before a road game in Atlanta and a home contest against the Eagles.

Seahawks at Giants

Count me in the vast majority who thought the Broncos would steamroll the Giants at home in primetime on Sunday. But, given the rest of the craziness that unfolded in Week 6, it was fitting that an Odell Beckham Jr.-less New York team handled the Broncos at their place. Weird. If the G-Men can piece together another all-around performance against a still stingy Seahawks defense, then the heat on Ben McAdoo's seat will be reduced from "medium high" to "low." Also, new play-caller Mike Sullivan has been given a tremendous opportunity to make quite the name for himself if the Giants offense turns around under his watch.

Panthers at Bears

Turns out the Bears are like 10 times more fun with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback than they are with Mike Glennon. Imagine that. Luke Kuechly's absence looms large for the Panthers, and once again last week we were reminded how drastically different Carolina's defense is without him. Does that mean the Trubisky, Howard, and Cohen law firm will be able to do enough to win? It's a decent possibility. Strangely, Cam Newton has been much better on the road than at home thus far in 2017.

Titans at Browns

Aaaaaand the Browns are going back to DeShone Kizer as the starting quarterback. One start for Kevin Hogan was enough for Hue Jackson. While I do think the long-term plan is still in place for Cleveland, management and the coaching staff realizes it needs to start winning. They host a pretty well-rounded Titans team fresh off its first win over the Colts since 2011, so things are good for Mike Mularkey's crew, although Marcus Mariota probably isn't 100 percent recovered from his hamstring injury. Cleveland looks to be the least-impressive team in the NFL and will be the odds-on favorite to land the first overall pick until it makes a significant stride.