After a rough stretch that saw the 49ers lose three consecutive games leading into their bye week, Kyle Shanahan and his team got a much-needed break before embarking on the second half of the season.
On this week's episode of NBC Sports Bay Area's "49ers Game Plan," Shanahan explained to Greg Papa that despite the losing skid, the team's spirit remains unhindered ahead of their Week 10 clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"It was tough before we went on that bye week," Shanahan told Papa. "We had lost three in a row, which winning 15 in a row before three losses in a row, it felt weird, it felt different. Anytime I've been in any building that loses three in a row, it's terrible. But it was a different feeling after how successful we had been right till that. I knew we needed to get away for rest, but the cool thing was when we came back Monday, I didn't know how the guys were going to be.
"I was ready to go in and talk to them as a team, and it was one of the [easiest] team meetings I've ever had. Just the energy in the room feeling, I think guys were really pissed and disappointed about how things have gone, and I think they were pumped to be back at work on Monday. We had a great practice to start the week, the energy has been at an all-time high, and we just want to get to Sunday and go out there and play football."
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San Francisco raced out to a 5-0 start to the 2023 NFL season, dominating their opponents with a plus-99 point differential through five weeks.
Their offense was explosive, scoring over 30 points in each contest while averaging 33.4 points per game. The defense was just as impressive, holding opponents to a paltry 13.6 points per game over that same span.
Both sides of the ball seemed to unravel simultaneously after Week 5, with San Francisco's dynamic offense putting up just 17 points in each of the last three games, while their defense has been getting uncharacteristically shredded by opposing quarterbacks.
After Thursday's practice, running back Christian McCaffrey spoke about the sense of urgency surrounding the team as they prepare for Sunday's matchup against the Jaguars.
San Francisco 49ers
"You want to treat each week as one week at a time, but having a tough opponent on the road, every game is a statement game, this one for sure," McCaffrey said to reporters in the 49ers locker room. "We got to win this one, we have to go out there and execute the way we know how. Just play good football and show good things on tape the way we know how to."
The last time the 49ers went to Jacksonville in desperate need of a win was Week 11 of the 2021 NFL season. San Francisco entered that game 4-5 and left with a .500 record after walloping the Jaguars to the tune of a 30-10 final score.
While this is a much different Jaguars team, San Francisco's motivation remains unchanged. Bring a victory back to the West Coast and kickstart a second-half surge that has become an annual tradition for this squad.