The San Francisco 49ers experienced the high of beating a tough division rival on Monday night, routing the Los Angeles Rams 31-10 at Levi's Stadium. The upset victory was the 49ers' first at home in over a year.
The Rams were 7-2 entering that game. The 49ers' next opponent owns the opposite record. The Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-7. San Francisco is in no position to take them lightly, though.
"We kind of backed ourselves into a corner, and it's not like we're a team that's 8-2," 49ers general manager John Lynch explained on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "We're 4-5, so we've backed ourselves in a corner where we just don't have that margin for error. And so, I think [we have] the level of urgency. I also believe, coming off a game where we finally put it together, I think we all felt it was long overdue, where all three phases play complementary football, played a physical game, executed at a high level. I thought our quarterback play, particularly in the money downs, was just unbelievable.
"So, I think when you put a complete effort, you're dying to get back on that field, and that's what I felt this week. We've had some weeks where we've had tremendous practice weeks, but you've got to take it to the field. We know there are some challenges."
Having played on Monday night, the Niners are coming off a short week. The condensed week of preparation plus traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast is a recipe for a letdown.
"When I played for Tony Dungy, he was great," Lynch continued. "He was mild-mannered, but he liked to state the facts. It's a really tough thing to do, play on Monday night and then go on the road, and win. The percentages say that. So, he used to point it out to us. Then Kyle's done a nice job with our team. But I don't think he needed to. I think our team is on point right now and understands the challenge."
Don't count Jacksonville out. The Jagaurs upset the Buffalo Bills in Week 9, showing that they are capable of shocking an outstanding team.
"These guys [the Jaguars] -- I know people get tired of teams saying that -- but these guys are really an up-and-coming team," Lynch said. "All you have to do is turn on the Buffalo tape from a couple of weeks ago. And Buffalo, to me, I think in the last two or three years, I think it's the best or one of the best teams we faced in terms of just complete teams. And Jacksonville took it to them and beat them -- I believe it was 9-6 -- a couple of weeks ago. So, I think that spoke to us. We understand we've got to bring it."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
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