The San Francisco 49ers aren't letting early success go to their heads. The team might be 2-0, but it is business as usual as it prepares for Sunday's matchup against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers are 0-2, without their starting quarterback, and traveling across the country for this weekend's game. The 49ers are always confident but are guarding against overconfidence after a fast start.


"I think we have the right locker room to do that, the right coaching staff," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said before Wednesday's practice. "I mean, they preach it to us every day. Just have that mindset.

"I think we have a good group of guys. Guys who come in — you can tell the intensity is just as high today as it was the first week. That's the way you've got to have it throughout the year."

The successful start to the season is new to this 49ers squad. The team lost nine straight before earning its first victory in 2017. Last year, San Francisco lost seven of its first eight before earning its second win of the year.

"I think we've seen the worst of the worst, so it's just one of those things that keeps pushing us," Garoppolo added.

The majority of these players haven't been in this situation before. Fans always hoped for wins on Sundays, but now they are starting to expect them. The 49ers are focused on the Steelers, though, and aren't looking too far down the road at potential playoff appearances or anything else.


"I think our team is smart enough and knows the deal," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "There's not one person in our building, at least that I've noticed, that feels like we've arrived by any means."

Shanahan understands that the 49ers could easily be 1-1 right now. If you get too overconfident in the NFL, the game has a way of very quickly humbling you.

"We feel good being 2-0, but you go into the bye week 2-1, and that's all taken away," Shanahan continued. "It's very important for us to go into this bye week 3-0, and you can't just wake up on Sunday and decide to do that. You better be as humble as can be and our backs are against the wall, the way I look at it.

"We've got to come out just as hungry as Pittsburgh's going to be because I know their backs are against the wall. I know their coaching staff, I know a lot of their players, and I know it's going to be an extremely hard, physical game on Sunday."

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