Maybe that lonely September loss to the Minnesota Vikings someday will be remembered as a blessing in disguise.
The San Francisco 49ers have been in a deadly trance ever since, slashing through victims on a two-week spree in which they outscored the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills 79-3 and piled up 1,000 yards of offense.
San Francisco's 621 yards in Sunday's 45-3 win over Buffalo broke a franchise record that dated to 1992, when the Steve Young-led 49ers totaled 598 yards -- also against the Bills.
Buffalo -- the first team to give up 550-plus yards in back-to-back games since the 1950 New York Yankees -- learned firsthand what Jim Harbaugh's 49ers are all about.
Critics fretted over the lack of a passing game in San Francisco. Nonsense. Haters continue to bury Alex Smith, but the 49ers starter was a machine Sunday, going 18-of-24 passing for 303 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.
When Smith wasn't shredding Buffalo's defense, Colin Kaepernick was on the field generating havoc and showing how versatile this San Francisco offense has become.
We haven't even talked about the 49ers' defense, which hasn't allowed a touchdown in two weeks. San Francisco snuffed out Buffalo's two-headed backfield monster of Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller and hastened questions about Ryan Fitzpatrick's status as an NFL starter -- just as it did with Mark Sanchez a week ago.
Who wants to play this team? No-bod-y!
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
