The Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks clashed last Thursday night at CenturyLink Field with the latter coming out on top 30-29. Many dubbed it as a battle to determine the best in the NFC West. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers waved from atop the division standings and yelled, "What about us?"
The Rams or Seahawks have won the NFC West during each of the last three seasons and five of the past six years. The 49ers last won the division in 2012. That's why the Bay Area team is still overlooked when discussing the best in the NFC West. At least the media is polite about it, saying, "With all due respect to the 49ers," and such before throwing praises toward the other two teams.
San Francisco can do a lot to solidify its place among the best with a win on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns and then another six days later against the Los Angeles Rams in Southern California.
The respect isn't there quite yet.
"Everybody is going to have an impression of us after this game (against the Browns)," rookie defensive end Nick Bosa recently said via Bay Area News Group. "We want it to be a 4-0 good impression, not as a 'fake, undefeated team' like people are kind of saying now."
The narrative to this point has been, "Yeah, the 49ers won, but the opponent was nothing special," after each Niners win. The excuses were plentiful. Jameis Winston is Jameis Winston. The Bengals putting up a fight in Seattle was a fluke. It was Mason Rudolph's first start, and he played like it.
What do you think the narrative will be if the #49ers beat the Browns on Monday? That the 49ers are actually good or that the Browns aren't?
— 49ers Webzone (@49erswebzone) October 6, 2019
General manager John Lynch knows the road to the division crown, and national respect goes through the Rams and the Seahawks.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic recently asked Lynch if he felt his squad was on the same level of a team like the Rams after three offseasons overhauling the roster.
"I think you have to earn that," Lynch responded on the "TK Show" podcast. "They've been there. Since we've got here, they've really asserted themselves as the group that has this division right now, and you have to take that from them.
"I think we're much more equipped to be in that conversation, but you have to earn those things. So, no. They've earned that right. They played in the Super Bowl last year. They deserve that."
That's not to say that Lynch doesn't like where the 49ers are right now compared to previous seasons or that he doesn't believe his squad is capable of unseating the Rams or Seahawks. The 49ers sit at 3-0, and the GM knows the team can keep things rolling.
"We really do like where our team is at, where we can go," Lynch continued. "I think that's the thing I'm so encouraged about is that we're 3-0, and we feel like we have a lot more in us. We also know how quickly you can get punched in the mouth in this league."