The Cowboys and the 49ers played out a thrilling game that ebbed and flowed and was a fine exhibition for the NFL on Sunday Night Football in Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season. However, the results had different repercussions for both teams.
Dallas entered this game with a 3-3 record and knew that they needed to win the match to keep in touch within their division. The Commanders had won a thriller earlier in the day and the Eagles had demolished the Bengals. However, a loss leaves them with a 3-4 record; two games behind Philadelphia and three behind Washington.
San Francisco, meanwhile, entered into this matchup sitting at 3-4 and knew that a win would pull them away from the basement of this division. The victory now has them at a 4-4 record, where they are sharing the lead in the NFC West with the Seahawks and the Cardinals, with the Rams just a game behind. It was a welcome relief for the 49ers and here are the reasons they won against the Cowboys.
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#1- Cowboys defense struggled without Micah Parsons
Micah Parsons’ contract has been a topic of discussion for some time now and his absence today showed why he is so important. The Cowboys went into halftime leading 10-6 and this had all the hallmarks of a close game.
However, the third quarter belonged to the 49ers completely as they scored 21 unanswered points. They kept scoring for fun and took a decisive 27-10 lead at one moment, which practically settled the game.
Micah Parsons’ absence was glaring at the time as his ability to disrupt Brock Purdy could have led to the Cowboys holding the 49ers down on some drives, which could have changed how the rest of the game unfolded.
#2- Dak Prescott turned the ball over at crucial moments
Dak Prescott is the highest-paid player in NFL history and the case for giving him that contract was that he is an elite quarterback. That is undoubtedly true as there are many teams in the NFL who would love to have a player of his caliber in that position. However, that does not absolve him from the fact that he has a penchant for throwing interceptions at the wrong moments.
There was one when he was pressured by Nick Bosa in the first half and ended up underthrowing the receiver and was picked off. Had he connected, that would likely have set up either a first-and-goal or resulted in a touchdown. The one in the second half was even more egregious. He threw into traffic while bailing from the pocket and was intercepted. It came in the third quarter, just after San Francisco had taken the lead and stalled any momentum that Dallas was building up.
#3 – Brock Purdy found his rhythm
For two years, Brock Purdy’s NFL career was almost a fairytale. He was the Mr. Irrelevant who took over as the starting quarterback and led them to an NFC Championship appearance in his first season before getting injured in that game. He then returned to lead the 49ers last year to a Super Bowl appearance that they lost in overtime and could have won in regulation time had their kicker not missed an opportunity to convert.
However, 2024 has been a chastening experience for him. Their record has not lived up to their preseason hype. There have been mitigating factors like various injuries to key players like Christian McCaffrey, but that has only served to highlight how much the quarterback is dependent on them and led to accusations that he is merely a game manager.
In this Week 8 matchup against the Cowboys, he went about straightening the narrative. He scored a touchdown on the ground on an audacious sneak and threw for one more touchdown. He led them on drives that yielded points regularly, often picking up first downs with his legs.
#4 – 49ers outgained Cowboys on the ground
One prime reason that the 49ers won this game was because of their superior running game. Brock Purdy had 260 yards through the air, which was not too different from Dak Prescott’s 243. But the Dallas quarterback had to throw more, and accordingly also had a higher chance of interceptions, because they could not get anything going on the ground.
The Cowboys picked up 56 rushing yards in total between Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook, and KaVontae Turpin. Brock Purdy alone had that much, with Isaac Guerendo adding another 85. Overall, the 49ers picked up 223 yards on the turf, which made their offense much more balanced.
#5 – Dallas’ soft core is an ongoing concern
The Cowboys lost this game to the 49ers just as they had lost to other teams this season. They let the game get away from them in a short time and then tried valiantly to claw back but fell short in the end. This is a movie we have seen before against the Ravens too.
Dallas’ wins this season have come against the Browns, Giants, and Steelers. Deshaun Watson, Daniel Jones, and Justin Fields were the opposing quarterbacks in those matches, all of whom are under scrutiny this season with the latter having now lost his job to Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh. Whenever Jerry Jones’ team has come up against an established offense, they have failed to deliver. It shows a fundamental weakness that needs to be corrected going forward.
