Another week, another win.
That’s been the story of the 49ers’ 2023 NFL season so far, as they remain one of two undefeated teams in the league.
And after a stunning 42-10 “Sunday Night Football” win over the Dallas Cowboys at Levi’s Stadium that was expected to last four quarters, San Francisco is looking like a real bargain. There’s still a lot to play for, but the 49ers know this team is special and fully capable of returning to the Super Bowl.
The hard part, however, is ensuring the team stays humble and focused throughout the long season. Coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t see this as a problem for his group.
“I am definitely aware of the question and how this could have happened. But honestly, it was really easy with our guys,” Shanahan told reporters on a conference call Monday. “We have a really good team in that regard.” Just the game against Dallas, the hype surrounding the game and the way they conducted themselves in our building all week, didn’t make much of it. It was like any other game and like any other week.
“I think we have a good group of veterans that have been through a lot, even guys that have been here since our ’19 year when we started 8-0. I think the guys that were here and did it.” After we went through things, they passed it on to the other guys. It is always our message that nothing can be taken for granted and it is just one week at a time. I think that’s what everyone preaches, but I think through our shared life experiences and stuff, our guys really know it. And the guys who weren’t there hear it all the time from the guys who were.”
The 49ers have plenty of motivation this season.
After last season’s brutal playoff exit during an injury-related NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, it felt like San Francisco entered the 2023 season with unfinished business.
But that pain wasn’t just left in January. San Francisco has played in conference championships three times since the 2019 season, the same year they advanced to Super Bowl LVI and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
They’ve come close to the finish line so many times, and Shanahan knows that’s what’s driving his boys this year.
“Yeah, I think every single one of them [losses] Do [motivate the team] secure. I mean, players don’t always get the chance to get into situations like that throughout their careers. “We’ve been in three pretty big situations here in the last four years,” Shanahan said. “So a lot of our team has been in one of those three situations and some have been in all or both since the Super Bowl,” those championship losses. That’s what you get as a coach because you usually stay in the league longer as you get older and stuff like that. But it always makes you realize that you can’t take anything for granted in this league. The only time you learn that is when the season ends and when it ends the hard way, like in a Super Bowl or like in two championships.
“And when that happens, you know how hard it is to get there and you know that’s really all that matters. That’s why when you go through this you preach it and really mean it. If your players can get through that.’ And they feel it along with the coaching staff, yeah, it takes its toll and that makes the offseason different. This makes the way you attack everything different. I feel that very much with our players. You’ve been through a lot. We added a few new guys this year that I think jumped in right away, but I think our guys have been on a mission for a while.”
That mission continues Sunday when the 49ers head back on the road for a Week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns.
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