The Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers reached their respective Week 9 byes on very different footing.
For San Francisco, it was a welcomed reprieve from a tailspin. After a 5-0 start to the year, the 49ers dropped three straight to blow their lead in the NFC West. It was the opposite story for the Jaguars, who began the season with only one win in their first three games before rattling off five straight.
The 49ers were reeling and the Jaguars were rolling, but its been two weeks since either team was on the field. Does anything that happened last month matter much Sunday? Or is that chapter closed with the second half of the season set to start?
“I think a little bit of both,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “We still feel that momentum, that energy that we left with when we took the week off, but you got to find a way to get that edge back. … Just getting our legs back under us and getting that edge and practicing hard, that’s where it starts.
“You can’t just walk out there Sunday and expect to play with that edge if you didn’t all week in practice. I think that’s where it starts really today and as we practice every day of the week.”
Safety Andre Cisco agreed.
“I think the momentum stays, for sure,” Cisco said. “There’s still a starting fresh aspect to it as far as like we had a week off. Don’t force yourself to feel like you gotta use last week as fuel. Just restart.
But Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun doesn’t even believe in the concept of momentum in the first place.
“I don’t like momentum — it’s week to week,” Oluokun said. “You gotta bring the right energy for the week. It’s the only way to go in this league. Momentum is when you get caught relying on what you did in the past. You gotta bring the right energy for the weekend.”
Oddsmakers and experts evidently don’t think the team’s respective streaks in October matter much. The 49ers are a slight road favorite despite their skid and most experts seem to think that it’s justified.
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