Cowboys crushed in humbling defeat to unbeaten 49ers
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas.com) – They say humility is just a week away in the NFL, and the Cowboys discovered that on Sunday night in a 42-10 loss to the unbeaten 49ers, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs each of the last two years.
This was supposed to be payback. This was supposed to be the measuring stick. This was supposed to be the game that catapulted the Cowboys down the road to Super Bowl 58.
Instead, as Dak Prescott put it, "This was maybe the most humbling game I've ever been a part of."
The 49ers pounced on the Cowboys from start to finish. Literally, they won this game on first down plays alone. San Francisco amassed 255 yards and three touchdowns on 33 first down plays, an average of 7.7 yards per play. Dallas had a total of 39 yards and three turnovers on 20 first down plays, an average of 1.95 yards per play.
49ers QB Brock Purdy continued his sensational start to the season, throwing four TD passes and no interceptions. Purdy is now a perfect 12-0 in his career in games that he starts and finishes. The only game he has lost was in the NFC Championship game in Philly when he left the game with an injury after four plays.
On the other hand, in his last three games against the 49ers, Dak Prescott has thrown three TD passes, six interceptions and has been sacked nine times.
So, where do the Cowboys go from here? With a Monday night game against the Chargers next week, literally, they are going back to the drawing board where Mike McCarthy says they will spend the majority of their time on Wednesday, figuring out what went wrong against San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Chargers Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore, the former Cowboys play caller, presumably spent his bye week digging deep into what went right for Kyle Shanahan Sunday night against Dan Quinn's defense.
And, that Dallas defense has a big injury concern as the week begins. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch will undergo an MRI on Monday after leaving the game with a neck injury.
Wide receiver Kavontae Turpin (ankle), special teams Captain C. J. Goodwin (shoulder), and safety Donovan Wilson (lower leg) also left the game with injuries.