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After a fast start from the offense, San Francisco's defense pressured the Cowboys at every level, with two sacks and a forced fumble in the first half and three consecutive interceptions in the second half.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers' 42-10 victory over the Cowboys.
Purdy up to the task
Despite the eye-popping efficiency that Purdy has shown through the first quarter of the season, few have been willing to lump Purdy in with the NFL's truly elite quarterbacks—Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and the like. Part of that doubt comes from Purdy not having faced many truly elite defenses so far in his young career.
But tonight, Purdy put those questions to bed with a stellar 17/24 performance with 252 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He took just one sack for a two-yard loss, and averaged an elite 10.5 yards per attempt on his throws.
With the blowout safely in hand, Purdy exited the game early in the 4th quarter, which makes his stat-line all the more impressive. His critics will have to wait another week to evaluate his efficiency while playing from behind—San Francisco never once trailed against Dallas during their rout.
Defense comes through in prime-time
Despite averaging just 14.5 points allowed per game entering Sunday, the 49ers defense felt as though they still had another gear left in them. They reached that level tonight, limiting Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and crew to just 10 points and 197 yards combined.
Prescott's woes continued against San Francisco, thanks to a Niners defense that played aggressively and forced turnovers at every turn. 49ers' linebacker Fred Warner got the giveaway party started with a forced fumble against Dallas running back Tony Pollard, erasing what would have been his longest gain of the day.
FRED WARNER KNOCKS IT FREE!
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 9, 2023
49ers have it and are in business!
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/KJrrlw1ofw
Warner notched an interception in the third quarter, sandwiched between picks by safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. and linebacker Oren Burks. Those takeaways completely snuffed out a Cowboys offense that started sneaking back into the game with a field goal to start the second half, forcing Prescott out of the game after his third straight INT.
Dallas can't get the monkey off their back
Once again, the Cowboys faced off against Kyle Shanahan's 49ers and fell flat on their face. At the beginning of the week, Prescott and the Cowboys leaned into their recent suffering at the hands of San Francisco. As it turned out, that ire had all the force of a pie dropped from halfway up a ladder.
Dallas had a strong belief they could contain San Francisco's offense after giving up just 21 points per game in their previous two meetings. But they clearly weren't prepared for this version of the 49ers. Three touchdowns in each half buried Dallas, a number that could have been even higher if running back Christian McCaffrey didn't fumble the ball at the 2 yard line at the start of the second quarter.
If the Cowboys accomplished one thing, it was successfully clamping down on CMC, who recorded "only" 78 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. But that opened up the field for everyone else, with RB Jordan Mason and FB Kyle Juszczyk recording surprise scores, as well as TE George Kittle, who reasserted himself in a big way with a three touchdown, 67 yard performance.
Dallas will undoubtedly leave this game with far more questions than answers about how to proceed with their squad. They may well once again face off with San Francisco in the postseason this year. But against the 49ers, who have scored at least 30 points in all five of their games so far this year, it's hard to see how they'd stand a chance the next time around.
