Good, bad and ugly: Cowboys’ Prescott claimed to be motivated, he was not
This isn’t what the Dallas Cowboys envisioned when they talked all week how facing San Francisco was a measuring stick game. The 49ers embarrassed the Cowboys, 42-10, on Sunday Night Football and left no doubt how far away Dallas is from being Super Bowl contenders.
It didn’t take long for the 49ers to establish themselves as the better team, scoring on their first possession and shutting down the Cowboys’ offense for most of the first half. The 49ers dominated on both sides of the ball and took full advantage of sloppy mistakes from Mike McCarthy’s team. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly in a disappointing loss to the 49ers in Week 5.
The Good: KaVontae Turpin as a WR
The Cowboys didn’t do much right on offense, but their only score came on a touchdown pass from quarterback Dak Prescott to Turpin. Most known for his skills as a returner, Turpin finally got to showcase his skills as a receiver.
On 3rd-and-4 from the 49ers’ 26-yard line, Prescott lofted his best pass of the night to Turpin, who had beaten his defender with his speed to the outside. Turpin made a beautiful over the shoulder catch to put the Cowboys on the scoreboard and give the team life.
The momentum didn’t last long, but it was one of the few things to go right for the Cowboys offense in the loss.
The Bad: Pass defense
This wasn’t the finest three hours for Dallas’ pass defense. Dan Quinn’s unit was carved up by 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who threw for 252 yards and four scores. The Cowboys’ defense never attacked Purdy and he had receivers running free all game long, sometimes with defender’s yards away.
Tight end George Kittle had a field day against the secondary and the safeties for the Cowboys got picked on way too often. On Kittle’s third score, safety Donovan Wilson had no clue where the ball was as it settled into the veteran TEs hands for the easy touchdown.
Just a clinic by the Niners. Kyle Shanahan has the Cowboys on a string. George Kittle with his third TD, just abused Donovan Wilson on that route.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) October 9, 2023
Purdy completed 70% of his passes, and it felt like he was on target with almost every throw he needed to make. The Cowboys’ defense offered little in the way of resistance and looked outclassed.
The Bad: Penalties
Another week where the Cowboys beat themselves with poor discipline. Dallas was flagged six times for 60 yards, but the timing of those penalties was what affected the game most.
A facemask on the first play of the game was followed by Micah Parsons jumping offsides to give the 49ers free yards on a drive they eventually scored on, and an unnecessary roughness call on safety Donovan Wilson (who was the facemask culprit too) extended another possession that ended in a touchdown.
Jayron Kearse was called for lining up offsides another time, and while the boneheaded mistake didn’t directly cost the team on the scoreboard, the domino effect led to the team buried in their own end when Tony Pollard fumbled and gave San Francisco a short field.
It’s all a sign of how undisciplined the Cowboys are and it continues to haunt them.
The Good: Brandon Aubrey
In a game where there wasn’t much to be excited about, the rookie kicker made both of his attempts. Aubrey impressed with a big leg, nailing a 50-yard field goal in the third quarter.
The final score makes the long field goal moot, but there’s a positive to take away from Aubrey, who made a big kick on the road when the game was still in question.
Dallas will take the small victories from this contest.
The Ugly: Dak Prescott
This was one of the poorer performances from Prescott, who never looked comfortable or confident. The veteran QB took two sacks when he was outside the pocket instead of throwing to a receiver on the run, or just chucking the ball out of bounds. Both sacks were astounding to watch as Prescott failed to escape the pressure or toss the ball away.
Prescott threw three interceptions, but perhaps his biggest miss cost the team a chance at changing the game. The Cowboys were trailing by two touchdowns near the end of the first half when he had WR Brandin Cooks wide open after beating LB Fred Warner.
This was the moment the Cowboys had traded Cooks for, to open up the offense with his speed and to back the 49ers defense off the underneath throws. This was their first real shot, and Prescott uncorked a throw that never gave Cooks a chance. Prescott took a sack on the next play and the half ended without the Cowboys scoring points to close the gap or gain any momentum.
The second half was full of poor throws from Prescott, who was intercepted on a hero ball down the middle, on a deflection where he probably shouldn’t have been throwing the ball in the first place, and on an awful slant pass in the fourth quarter.
It was an ugly showing from a QB who said he was happy to be reminded of his struggles against the 49ers because it motivated him. Not enough to play well, apparently.
