Javon Hargrave admits 49ers let guard down after perfect 5-0 start

Javon Hargrave admits 49ers let guard down after perfect 5-0 start originally appeared on
NBC Sports Bay Area

Javon Hargrave shared insights into the 49ers’ mindset prior to their 34-3 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at TIAA Bank Field.

The dominance showcased in the win mirrored the team’s unbeaten start of the season. However, Hargrave pondered whether the 49ers had relaxed during the three-game losing streak leading up to the bye week.

“Yeah, it’s hard not to,” Hargrave disclosed during an appearance on KNBR’s “Murph & Mac” show. “Everybody’s got to learn from it. Just not reading too much, not looking at too much. They say it’s like a little poison [when] everybody’s telling you how good you are. And then you can’t read and hear when everybody’s telling you how bad you are.”

“Just keeping them blinders on, staying focused and just trying to grow every week.”

Jake Moody missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt in the closing seconds of San Francisco’s first loss of the season, a 19-17 road defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. Quarterback Brock Purdy threw four picks over the next two games, losses to the Minnesota Vikings on the road and Cincinnati Bengals at home.

However, the 49ers turned things around on Sunday and played as close to a perfect game as possible.

“We were a little fed up,” Hargrave expressed. “We felt it. I think the bye was a good time for us, just to get away and get our minds right. When we got back in the building, everybody just felt it with everybody.”

“It was just time. I think that’s how it was from the first snap of the game until the last snap. Everybody was just hungry. I feel like that’s going to be the mindset from here on out.”

Despite the recent losing streak, the 49ers maintain first place in the NFC West and occupy the NFC’s No. 3 playoff seed. To vie for the conference’s top seed and a first-round playoff bye, the 49ers must remain focused over the next four weeks, with upcoming matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, division rival Seattle Seahawks (twice), and the current No. 1-seeded Philadelphia Eagles.
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