Joe Nedney walked up the stadium tunnel toward the team bus. The 49ers kicker was not wearing a jacket, and his breath was a small cloud. A cumulus cloud. It hovered above Nedney in the 34-degree weather. The air was drippy and dank.

But the air was also rare with the smell of a 49ers road victory. Nedney was happy to stop and talk about the nasty day which included an impressive 50-yard field goal off his toe.

"I'm thankful my feet were numb," Nedney said. "Because if they weren't, I think it would have really hurt to kick the ball."

But what did the 10-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills really mean? Especially in this 49ers season that, several weeks ago, stopped going anywhere significant?

"It means that today, we showed we can finish," Nedney said. "It was an ugly finish. But we can finish the game. In the third quarter, it's like forces start to work against us. I wish I could explain it. But today we stepped up and finished."

Such a simple task, finishing. Such a hard one it's been for the 49ers.

And for those of us watching? Sad to say, but we have become Joe Nedney's feet.

We are numb. Numb to having hopes raised about the 49ers' prospects. Numb to seeing a good game (St. Louis) followed by a total stink job (Dallas). Numb to watching the team fail to complete games over the past few seasons.

So it is quite possible we did not appreciate how much Sunday meant.

You don't want to overplay what the 49ers did here. You also do not want to underplay it.

Until Sunday, they had not won a game this season without scoring at least 31 points. Until Sunday, they had not beaten a team with a winning record. And coming back from the embarrassment in Dallas was worth some praise.

"I think one of the things that we harped on from that game was, keeping our poise," 49ers linebacker Manny Lawson said. "We got up on them early and kind of lost our poise, and they made big plays and ran with it. So we were focusing on doing what we re doing, getting it done and keeping our poise."

Granted, the Bills helped out the cause immensely. They were predictable, inept and unlucky. Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards played the first half with a sore groin and looked shaky frequently throwing the ball into the ground or off target before being benched.

But that wasn't Buffalo's only woe. Kicker Rian Lindell hit the left upright twice on field goal attempts. There were some unnecessary timeouts, one strange replay challenge and a couple of other odd decisions by Buffalo coach Dick Jauron.

And yet ... the Bills offense did get into the red zone four times. And failed to score touchdowns four times. This was the fiirst time since 2003 that the Bills had failed to score a touchdown at home.

On each of those red-zone trips by the Bills, all of the pieces worked for the 49ers. Their pass coverage smothered the Buffalo receivers and gave the defensive line a chance to sack Edwards or his replacement, J.P. Losman.

And when the Bills, who ran well outside the 20-yard line, tried to do the same inside the red zone, space suddenly vanished.

Afterward, several 49er players said their game preparation had them ready for every red-zone play the Bills ran. But the execution also had to be there. Edwards, the Buffalo quarterback, admitted to being stymied.

"They showed blitz,'' Edwards said of the 49er defense, "and then they didn't really show us the blitz we thought we were going to get. They dropped back into coverage."

Good coaching, good execution, good finish. Can it be that difficult to repeat, every week?

Sunday's victory wasn't a turning point. Wasn't a defining moment. Wasn't a watershed. But it was an achievement to rebound from miserable showing in Dallas. And it showed us what was possible with this team.

In a way, that was even more agonizing. Think about it. If the 49ers had also been able to hold second-half leads over Philadelphia and at Arizona earlier this season, then the 49ers would have a 6-6 record. They would be tied for the NFC West division lead with the Cardinals.

Afterward, I asked 49ers coach Mike Singletary if this was the way his team had to win games clamping down defensively with minimal but sufficient offense.

"I don't think it's the way we have to win," Singletary said. "I don't think our limits have been set yet. I think we're better than this."

Which was a good answer. The 49ers weren't fabulously great Sunday. Singletary understood. Let's give them credit for what they accomplished here. And then let's see what happens next Sunday against the Jets. At least this was not another manic depressive Sunday, with keen optimism sinking darkly into despondent gloom.

"I learned a long time ago that you never apologize for a win,'' said 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill, who was just good enough when he needed to be. "Wins are just too hard to get. With all the things that we had to overcome today, we'll take it."

Better than being numb, I guess.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com