Dallas City News

It started with a pop and went out with a fizzle. Coming out of their bye, the Dallas Cowboys initially showed some fight. They got into post-play scuffles with the San Francisco 49ers, and they broke a few tackles when they needed them in the first half. Dallas did what fans hoped for them to do early in the game. That all unraveled in the third quarter. After holding the 49ers to six points, the Dallas defense let San Francisco run out to 21 unanswered points in the third frame. They dug a hole they ultimately proved incapable of digging themselves out of, even though Dallas made things interesting late.

The loss is another demoralizing showing against San Francisco, who has had their number, giving the Cowboys a fourth straight loss in as many meetings between clubs. Despite the final, the game was nowhere close once the fourth quarter started. The loss sends Dallas to a 3-4 record and struggling to find solutions. The sand in the hourglass is dwindling for the Cowboys to resemble something of a contender for the NFC East. Here are the three biggest missteps in the loss versus San Francisco.

Dak Prescott

Forget the late comeback for a second; there’s something off with Dak Prescott and this offense. However, as the quarterback and leader of the team, we need better out of the signal-caller. The script we’ve been given has become all too familiar this season. The offense bogs down, the defense gives up a slight lead, and Prescott throws an interception. You can tell he’s desperately trying to make plays, but his aggressiveness is dancing dangerously with carelessness, and the interceptions are piling up. Prescott now has eight interceptions this season versus ten touchdown passes. It’s a shame because he started well, and the offense moved the ball before sputtering in the red zone in the first half. His first interception has some mitigating circumstances, considering he was under pressure in the pocket. Still, it was 1st-and-10 near midfield. Take the sack, throw the ball out of bounds, anything but turn the ball over and leave empty-handed without points, especially with Brandon Aubrey on your sideline who is next to automatic from 55 yards and in.

His second interception was an ugly one. Rolling to his left and running out of time, Prescott lobbed a prayer for CeeDee Lamb that was intercepted and set up the 49ers on the Cowboys’ side of the field. Seven plays later, The 49ers would capitalize on Prescott’s mistake to expand their lead to 20-10. Pass protection has been a concern, but you need your quarterback to take better care of the football. Prescott has a QBR of 47.2 this year, which is by far the lowest of his career. Admittedly, other aspects are wrong with this team besides Prescott, but you start questioning if he can be enough to mask the team’s warts. Lately, he’s adding more fuel to the trash can fire, which has been Dallas’ offense. To right the ship, Prescott must be better with the football to give his struggling offense a fighting chance.

Coaching

This has been broached before, but it needs to be stated again until it sinks in for Mike McCarthy. McCarthy doesn’t understand this team, which becomes glaringly apparent each week. The Cowboys won the opening toss against the 49ers and elected to receive the kickoff. This is a foolish decision because everyone knows receiving the second-half kickoff is best. It’s especially unwise because the Cowboys’ offense continues to get off to slow starts and sputter weekly. To the surprise of some, the Cowboys were able to pick up a first down on the opening series. Yet, when faced with a 3rd-and-5 approaching midfield, McCarthy calls a puzzling run up the middle to the fullback. So, McCarthy dared to take the ball to start the game but didn’t dare to throw for a first down? This makes no sense and sends the wrong message to his team. If you make an aggressive call to get the ball, commit to it all the way.

The 49ers would then take the ball on the ensuing drive to take the early 3-0 lead. Where this decision had a ripple effect, the 49ers scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, the first of three in the third quarter. McCarthy’s poor decision to start the game gave the momentum back to San Francisco, ultimately leading to their 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Then, look at the Cowboys’ offense at the end of the third quarter. They moved with little urgency and seemed resigned to their fate of an early loss. They appeared disinterested in getting off a play before the end of the quarter. That sluggish mindset came from the head coach/playcaller. It’s often said that a team takes on the head coach’s personality. That shiftlessness is the mark of a coach who was content with the pace of the drive, and players followed his lead. It goes deeper than that as well.

You could point to several instances where receivers route combinations where receivers were in the same area or plays where the call didn’t afford Prescott a check-down option ahead of the line scrimmage, instead a throw to the tight end in the flat in front of a swarm of 49ers defenders. Also, there was inconsistent use of motion to create passing windows to make things easier for Prescott. Dallas had a good mixture of that early on and then suddenly stopped. Adjustments need to be made between the quarterback, offensive coordinator, and head coach to get the offense moving as if their season is on the line because at 3-4 and a few games back of the division lead, it is.

Role players not answering the call

The Cowboys are riddled with injuries. Still, so were the 49ers, and where they had injuries, someone stepped up in their place. Take Isaac Guerendo, for example. No Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason is injured, and the third-string running back, Guerendo, goes for 102 yards from scrimmage. Ricky Pearsall, playing instead of Brandon Aiyuk, nets 77 total yards. The Cowboys’ role players could not equal that. Without Brandin Cooks, Dallas relies heavily on its backup receivers. Down by six with a chance to win the game, KaVontae Turpin had a shot to swing the field and extend the final drive but couldn’t come up with a play when the team needed it. Prescott threw a great pass that hit him in the hands, but he couldn’t haul it. It would have been the throw of the night for Prescott and the fledgling offense, but it became just a long incompletion and more of an uphill battle.

Chauncey Golston, who had a solid performance in the running game in spurts, couldn’t make a play. The Cowboys flushed Brock Purdy from the pocket deep in 49ers territory and deflected his pass in the air, but Golston couldn’t secure the interception that likely would have been a pick-six if Golston had not let it slip through his fingers. Although a starter, Donovan Wilson is still just a role player and he was being counted on to do his part. The defense Mike Zimmer was calling required Wilson to be better in coverage than he was. Isolated often against George Kittle in man coverage, Wilson offered no resistance. Repeatedly, Wilson was beaten by Kittle. In all, Kittle had 128 yards receiving, with a large chunk coming from Wilson defending Kittle. Next man up is a cliché, sure. Still, somebody has to step up and make a play when counted on.