The 49ers showed up and showed out against the Dallas Cowboys. Most of us expected the defensive showdown the playoffs have given us over the last two seasons. Instead, Brock Purdy uncorked Kyle Shanahan’s offense and delivered four touchdown passes against the lauded Cowboys defense.
Perhaps the Cowboys defense is good, but they didn’t show it at Levi’s today. For the fifth game in a row, Brock Purdy led the offense to score on the opening drive of the game. The Niners offense was multiple but rooted in the run game, executing 43 run plays for 170 yards overall. The Niners blew the Cowboys off the line of scrimmage consistently attacking Micah Parsons. Relentlessly attacking Micah Parsons slowed his pass rush down. He failed to log a sack.
The 49er’s passing attack is not dink and dunk. Purdy delivered on 17 of his 24 throws. Ten of his attempts were over ten yards. He connected on seven of those attempts for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Purdy throws with anticipation and precision. When he is flushed from the pocket he always knows where to deliver the ball.
Defensively the Niners shut the Cowboys down. The Cowboys failed to make a first down until about three minutes into the second quarter. The Niners defense held the Cowboys to a mere 57 yards rushing. Dak Prescott was picked off three times. Dak’s first pick occurred in the third quarter after the Cowboys were already down 28 to 10. His first pick was an overthrow that landed right in Tashaun Gipson’s lap. Dak’s second pick was deflected off of Deommodore Lenoir into Fred Warner’s hands. The last interception occurred while Dak and the Cowboy’s first team offense was playing the Niners second team offense. Oren Burks stepped in front of an out-cut, ending Dak’s night.
Fred Warner really set the tone for the game. After the Niners initial score, the Cowboys and the Niners traded punts for a few possessions. The Niners forced two three and outs. The second three and out ended with a Nick Bosa/Arik Armstead sack. During the Niners next defensive possession Dallas started on their own ten-yard line. Tony Pollard took the hand off and ran up the sideline for four yards. As he was going down, Fred Warner streaked in and punched the ball out of Pollards hands. The ball miraculously stayed in bounds and was secured by Kevin Givens for a turnover.
The next few sequences of plays couldn’t have been scripted better in Hollywood. Two plays later, with the Niners on the ten-yard line, Christian McCaffrey takes the hand off and powers his way to the 2-yard line. As McCaffrey goes down, he lands on top of Jourdan Lewis who strips the ball from McCaffrey before he was downed. Dak completes an eight-yard pass to Michael Gallup on second and ten. On third down, Dak is flushed from the pocket. As he rolls to his left, he winds up to throw and Fred Warner leaps in the air in front of Dak, coming down and sacking him for a six yard loss. The Cowboy’s punted and Ray-Ray McCloud returned it for 14 yards. The Niners first play of the drive was a bit of razzle dazzle. Purdy takes the snap, flips it to McCaffrey who flips it to a streaking Deebo on what looked to be a reverse. Deebo then flips it back to Purdy who launches it down the field to a streaking George Kittle for a 38-yard touchdown. The Niners were up 14 to 0.
The best evidence of how good the Niners offense is occurred during their first offensive drive of the 2nd half. On a third and four, Brock Purdy found Brandon Aiyuk for a 40 yard completion. The play was called back due to a holding call against Spencer Burford. Now it was third and fourteen. On the very next play, Purdy finds Deebo for a 43 yard. Now matter the situation, Purdy is ice cold. Four play’s later, Purdy finds Kittle for his third touchdown of the day.
The Cowboys received a heavy dose of Jordan Mason. The 223 pound back pounded away at the Cowboys defense for 69 yards and a touchdown on ten carries. George Kittle was the first 49ers tight end since Vernon Davis to score three touchdowns in the same game. Christian McCaffrey scored a touchdown for the 14th game in a row. The Cowboys did key on McCaffrey, holding him to 51 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Aiyuk had a decent day; however, he dropped a couple of catchable balls. Deebo had quietly productive game, touching the ball 8 times for 85 yards. Finally, Fred Warner collected a sack, forced a fumble, and snagged an interception. Warner is the first Niners linebacker to achieve those feats in the same game since Navarro Bowman in 2013.
The 49ers thoroughly beat the Cowboys in all three phases of the game. It was a beat down that no one expected. The 49ers came out and executed. Early in the game the Cowboys had opportunities to answer but the 49ers stymied them every time except once. When the Cowboys did answer the razzle dazzle play to Kittle, the Niners promptly drove the field and scored again. The Cowboys did come out and score a field goal to start the 2nd half, but the Niners answered with seven again. At that point the game unraveled for the Cowboys, and they never recovered.
The 49ers need to remain humble and focused. They are undefeated, but the last two thirds of the season remain. On to Cleveland!
