BY Ralph Vacchiano / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

In the locker room on Sunday, right after the Giants knocked off the Patriots and not long after Brandon Jacobs finally put him back on the ground, Tom Coughlin composed himself and focused his attention on his team's upcoming trip to San Francisco.

And his message to his team was a pointed one. "We ain't going on a six-hour ride not to come back with a win," he said. It was a private moment with his team, caught by cameras and spread all over the Internet, but his words - and the reaction of his excited players - spoke volumes. It wasn't just about the Giants' confidence, either.

The message, his players said, is that there is still some important - and difficult - business to conduct. "It was a great win, but New England is behind us now," said Giants safety Antrel Rolle. "We have to make sure we're focused on San Fran and put last week in the past.""We forgot all about that game already," added safety Deon Grant. "Because we're looking at a team that's even better than the team we played last week."

As emotional as the Giants' 24-20 win in New England was, they did their best on Wednesday to focus on the future, and a surprisingly good 49ers team they'll play on Sunday. The Niners (7-1) are running away with the NFC West under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh. They boast the league's sixth-best rushing attack (137.6 yards per game) and top run defense (70.8). They're also giving up a league-low 14.8 points per game.

They could be a dangerous splash of cold water in the face of a team, facing a long trip, feeling incredibly good about itself. And the Giants certainly do.

They're just also determined not to let over-confidence seep in and ruin their current roll. "(The win over the Patriots) boosts us up some," said linebacker Michael Boley. "At the same time, as a team, we're more critical of ourselves than anybody would think. We took a lot of time to look at the things that we did wrong last week and tried to get them corrected going into this week."

The easiest place to start is where this game is likely to be won or lost — with the running game, where the 49ers appear to have a decided advantage. The Giants have the NFL's fourth-worst rushing attack, averaging a paltry 88.8 yards per game.

Meanwhile, 49ers running back Frank Gore, who is nursing a sore ankle, has topped 100 yards in each of the last five games and is fifth in the NFL with 782 yards this season.

The Giants' 25th-ranked rushing defense is giving up 127.1 yards per game. "What you have to do is try to take away their strength," said defensive tackle Chris Canty. "They just want to run the football. They know that. We know that. They know that we know. So we're not tricking anybody here." "If they run the ball on us, they're going to beat us," said defensive end Dave Tollefson. "I think everybody knows that."

The Giants, though, are determined not to let that happen. They've been defiant about not following up their 6-2 start with what has become an annual second-half fade. They've admittedly gained confidence from their big win in New England and feel they can beat anybody.

But they've seen their upcoming schedule, too, and they know that their confidence can only take them so far.

"Confidence comes from demonstrating performance, so any time you go on the road and beat a quality opponent on the road, you prove to yourself that you can do it," Canty said. "Now we have to understand that we have to continue to prepare the way we have in the past — and even more so now because from this day on the games just get better.

"You win a big game, the next game is even bigger. You have to understand that."