Post by Matt Meyer – @Bluto51 on X (Twitter)
Much better performance by the Dallas Cowboys this week. After an embarrassing loss at Arizona, Dallas destroyed the New England Patriots 38-3, handing Bill Belichick his worst defeat as a head coach. Cowboys are 3-1 headed to San Francisco on Sunday night.
Very rare in the NFL for a team to be four weeks into the season and none of the final margins to be within 11 points. Dallas has won three games by 40, 20, and 35 points, and their loss was by 12. Can’t expect that to continue for 17 games. Sooner or later, the Cowboys will find themselves in tight fits, and it’s those close games that usually define a team’s season. Close games and how you play against good teams, and to this point, each team that Dallas has played is 1-3. That changes this week with the 4-0 49ers, who I believe is the best team in football.
Cowboys came out throwing in this game which caught me by surprise. Not a ton of stuff downfield but the ball was in the air more than I figured. Could’ve been because New England was missing a starting CB, or maybe Dallas liked the matchup throwing the football better than running it. Dak Prescott was 28-34 for 261 yards and a TD. In a blowout victory, the Cowboys threw the ball 36 times and ran it 30 times. Tony Pollard carried the ball 11 times for 47 yards. TE Jake Ferguson led Dallas with 7 catches for 77 yards. Cowboys continue to struggle in the red zone, converting only 1 of 4 chances into TD’s. That has to improve if Dallas is going to be a factor in January.
Not that the Cowboys’ offense needed to do much, as for the third time in four weeks, Dallas’ defense was fantastic. Patriots were held to 10 first downs, 253 total yards, and they turned it over 3 times, 2 of which turned into TD’s, an 11 yard fumble return by Leighton Vander Esch, and a 54 yard interception return by DaRon Bland. Bland has been tasked with filling the void of Trevon Diggs’ absence, and I’m not going to spin Diggs’ injury into something positive, but Bland isn’t a bad replacement. You could win a lot of money at the speakeasy by asking folks who is leading the NFL in interceptions over the last two seasons. It’s Bland, with 8.
Another positive coming out of this game is the Cowboys only allowing 53 rushing yards on 23 carries. Arizona gashed Dallas on the ground with 222 rushing yards on 30 carries. Cowboys will see better offenses than the Patriots, starting this week, but that was a good sign. Biggest negative coming out of the game was Micah Parsons getting hobbled. Parsons played through knee and ankle injuries, and I was surprised to see him out there so much in a blowout. As a Cowboys fan, I’d like to think Parsons was sending a message to his team about toughness, because he’s double tough. Love that about him. I hope Parsons wasn’t out there to pad his stats with a new contract coming soon. Head Coach Mike McCarthy said that Parsons’ injuries were “not of high concern.” I hope that’s accurate.
Not a good sign that LT Tyron Smith missed another game with a knee sprain. One of my favorite players ever, but Smith hasn’t played every game of a season since 2015. Tough deal. Hall of Fame caliber player, but the question of when is it time to move on from Smith is becoming more pertinent by the season. RB Rico Dowdle suffered a hip injury against the Patriots, but MRI results showed only a contusion, which is good news. He could play this week.
Cowboys/49ers Sunday at 7:20. I’m a sucker for nostalgia, perhaps to a fault, but there’s still something special about seeing Dallas vs. San Francisco on the schedule. Niners have eliminated the Cowboys from the playoffs the last two seasons. Biggest key for me, as I’ve stressed all season long, is Dallas stopping the run. Easier said than done against Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and that offensive line, led by former Sooner and future Hall of Famer Trent Williams. Brock Purdy is playing excellent football, completing 72% of his passes for over 1,000 yards with 5 TD’s and 0 picks in 112 attempts. Brandon Aiyuk is averaging almost 19 yards a catch. McCaffrey and Samuel are threats running or receiving. Norman native George Kittle is still one of the best TE’s in the game. San Francisco is 2nd in total offense, behind only Miami, 3rd in rush offense, 9th in pass offense, and 3rd in scoring offense. Only chance is to put them in third and long repeatedly, and let the pass rushers hunt.
On the flip side, Niners are 5th in total defense, 3rd against the run, and 3rd in scoring defense. LB Fred Warner is a future Hall of Famer, and fellow LB Dre Greenlaw is excellent in his own right. DT Javon Hargrave and DE Drake Jackson have 3 sacks each already, and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, DE Nick Bosa, is a menace up front. CB’s Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir lead the secondary.
There’s just not many weaknesses with the 49ers. Until proven otherwise, San Francisco is better than Dallas, and I don’t see the Cowboys’ struggles in the red zone improving against this defense.
San Francisco 23 Dallas 13