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San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown (25)
celebrates with safety Dashon Goldson (38) after a
51-yard interception return on a pass thrown by Chicago
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in the second quarter of
an NFL football game in San Francisco, Thursday, Nov.
12, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
The feeling in the 49ers locker room after the 10-6 win on Thursday brought a lot of relief for coaches and players.
"I'd hate to use the word relief," said head coach Mike Singletary. "But trying to think of another one is kind of hard right now. So, I will say, yes."
With a 4-5 record, the 49ers still have a chance in winning the division. Despite a 10-6 win in where the offense didn't amaze many, the defense stole the show. Here are some other reactions from the players last night.
"We had to get over that hump," said Tarell Brown. Brown had one of the five defensive interceptions. "It was important to come out strong in this game right here and like coach said, we had to take a step and that was the first step. We just have to keep it rolling and we just have to keep going."
One of the most vocal players on the team, Vernon Davis, felt a momentum shift with the win. Davis boasted about the offense's ability to handle the Bears defense earlier in the week.
"We have a lot of momentum now and that's what we wanted going into the next game," Davis said. "We wanted to win this game, get some momentum, get our confidence level high and continue to win."
Nose tackle Aybrayo Frankling emphasized the importance of the 49ers winning the turnover battle early on.
"I think we got back to doing the things that we were doing to them earlier in the season on defense," Franklin said after the game. "We played like we did the first half of the season, creating turnovers and getting good field position for our offense. We had five turnovers and we came out with the win."
"We came out there and showed what this defense is made of," said safety Dashon Goldson. Goldson also intercepted Cutler. "In the beginning of the year in training camp, we stressed turnovers and every day we practice turnover drills. Today was a great opportunity for us, coming out at home after four losses in a row. We know what we can do and we showed it out there."
There still is a lot of pressure on the 49ers offense to generate more than 10 points in a game. Quarterback Alex Smith will have to shoulder the pressure from now on. But Smith had good things to say about n offensive line that played better than the previous game.
"They played well," he said. "It's hard without looking at the film, but I thought they played well, especially there in the fourth quarter when we were running the ball. They had looks with against the run and still getting it done, especially [RB] Frank [Gore] back there making people miss, breaking tackles, making something out of not much."
And like many of his teammates, the outlook from this win was positive.
"It's a step in the right direction," Smith said. "Now, I got that question earlier this week, that's the biggest game up to this point. This next week, that will the biggest game. That's how the NFL goes. It's a long season and a long haul. Every game is important. I think the important thing about tonight is getting us on the right track. Losing four in a row it kind of kills momentum. To reverse that and get us going back where we need to go is a big deal."
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