Columnist Dean Juipe: 49ers’ stock drops despite narrow win

Dean Juipe

Monday, Nov. 3, 1997 | 8:49 a.m.

The Bandwagon was backed to the dock and ready to take on passengers. Any and every NFL fan was thinking he or she might jump aboard.

The subject: unraveling the mystery of the Super Bowl favorite.

The center of attention: the San Francisco 49ers.

The end result: additional indecision.

Nine games into the season and the field has barely been whittled at all. Of the dozen or so teams that came into the first week of play believing they had what it takes to win it all, perhaps only Oakland has shown that it was kidding itself.

Title aspirations around the league remain as prevalent as migraines for bettors in Las Vegas. Pro football has never been more of a guessing game.

Sunday appeared as if it might be Statement Day, what with the 49ers hosting the Dallas Cowboys. They could win big and feel as if they were ahead of the pack coming into the homestretch.

But it just didn't shake out that way. The 49ers won, 17-10, but they were behind most of the day and they were the beneficiaries of a last-minute official's call on the goal line that was extremely questionable.

The game could have easily gone the other way.

In that respect, it was typically NFL-ish.

Teams that are hot one week seem to sputter the next. Teams win and lose unexpectedly, to the delight of casinos and sports-book managers but to the chagrin of many others.

Take the 49ers. They won -- and covered by a half-point -- yet they looked flawed given the circumstances. Dame Fortune decided the game as much as anything.

The easy portion of San Francisco's schedule is behind it and games with Kansas City, Minnesota, Denver and Seattle remain. It's not impossible that the 49ers will be reeling within a month if that testy Dame Fortune decides to look the other way.

But while the 49ers survived a belated Halloween scare from the Cowboys, other would-be Super Bowlists were maneuvering in and out of public favor.

Minnesota is this week's hot new kid on the block. By setting aside the distractions brought on by the release of coach Dennis Green's tawdry book last week and defeating New England for their fifth-straight win, the Vikings showed a certain toughness and focus that others lack.

They could win the NFC title and that usually means the Super Bowl too, although Denver -- the apparent AFC champion at this early date -- may provide a worthwhile challenge.

With all due respect to the Broncos and the AFC's 18-13 lead in head-to-head games with the NFC this season, public perception is easily defined and the NFC champion will be a heavy favorite come Super Bowl time.

Plenty of teams are jostling for position in or near the driver's seat, with Green Bay right there for sure and Dallas and Tampa Bay among the many that still can't be discounted.

San Francisco?

Its glossy 8-1 record speaks for itself, even if the 49ers were largely silent on Statement Day.