SANTA CLARA — The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers entered the season as the NFC’s top contenders after three straight seasons of double-digit wins and playoff appearances for both franchises.
The 2024 campaign hasn’t exactly gone as planned for either team so far with injuries and inconsistent play leaving both with major questions heading into their matchup on Sunday.
Dallas (3-3) had a bye week last week to deal with a 47-9 loss to Detroit, the most lopsided home loss for the Cowboys since 1988. San Francisco (3-4) lost a High-profile Super Bowl. rematch against Kansas City and stumbles into its bye week after hosting Dallas.
“We’re in similar situations — two teams that need to right the ship and get on a better trajectory,” Niners defensive end Nick Bosa said. “For them, they are coming out of the bye; we’re going after that. They want to go out and start the second half of their season the right way, and we want to go into the bye feeling good about where we are.
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Cowboys look to resolve issues during bye week
The Cowboys had plenty of time to reflect on the blowout loss to the Lions, but the real concern during this time off for coach Mike McCarthy’s staff was fixing the issues that led to two blowout losses to New York. Orléans and Detroit and mostly uneven performances. season.
Dallas has been passed for 66 yards per game – the worst mark in the league and fifth worst in franchise history through six games – Dak Prescott and the passing game have been inconsistent and the defense as a whole has struggled. struggles under new coordinator Mike Zimmer.
But the biggest problem was turnovers, with the Cowboys committing 11 and generating just five takeaways after leading the NFL with 59 in the previous two seasons under Dan Quinn.
“It’s a big flashing light for us,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s like everything in football, where you put in your time, time on task, taking care of the football, taking it away, and we added some drills.”
Key reinforcements on this defense will not be back for Dallas this week. Star passer Micah Parsons will miss a third straight game with a high ankle sprain, and All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland’s season debut will have to wait at least another week while he recovers. a foot operation.
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Lamb responds to Aikman’s criticism
All-Pro CeeDee Lamb said nothing when asked if he agreed with Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman’s criticism that Dallas receivers were running lazy routes. Aikman, who won three Super Bowls while leading the Cowboys in the 1990s, mentioned Lamb by name.
Asked first more generally about his reaction to Aikman’s comments, Lamb responded: “We need to be better overall.” That’s all.
Prescott said he was not fully aware of Aikman’s comments during a radio appearance last week, who called Dallas’ run “terrible.” Aikman said some routes looked lazy because receivers didn’t seem fully engaged when they knew the ball wasn’t coming their way.
“It’s his job. I think he gets paid to analyze things, to comment on things,” Prescott said. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I think myself, CeeDee, this team, everyone would say we need to do better. Whether it got personal, whether it went too far, again, the guy gets paid to do this and he’s doing a job.
Lamb led the Cowboys in receiving yards in four of their six games, but did not have a 100-yard day. He had eight last season.
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49ers rookie receiver steps up
Rookie first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall had three catches for 21 yards last week in his NFL debut, 50 days after being shot in the chest.
Getting back on the field so soon was a major accomplishment, but the Niners will need more from Pearsall now that Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season with torn knee ligaments. Pearsall hopes to build on his debut performance.
“I saw that there were a lot of things to improve.” he said. “Obviously, being out of training camp and this time of the season, I have a lot of opportunities to improve. I just have to go back and do that, work hard, do what I usually do and work hard.
Kendricks takes on an old team
Dallas linebacker Eric Kendricks would not discuss his health after missing the Detroit game before the open week with calf and shoulder issues. He wasn’t much more willing to play against the Niners after initially agreeing to join them in free agency before moving on to the Cowboys in March.
Kendricks said the reunion with Mike Zimmer had a “big influence” in his decision, but wouldn’t offer much more. Zimmer, in his first year as Dallas’ defensive coordinator, served as Minnesota’s head coach and defensive play caller for Kendricks’ first seven seasons in the NFL. Kendricks stayed with the Vikings one more year after Zimmer left and spent last season with the Los Angeles Chargers.
“It was talked about,” Kendricks, who is listed as questionable because of a shoulder injury, said of the Niners. “But I decided to come here and play with these boys and I haven’t looked back since.”
Special teams struggles for 49ers
The Cowboys excelled on special teams behind kicker Brandon Aubrey’s eight field goals of at least 50 yards and strong coverage and return units. It’s the opposite case for the 49ers, who have made several mistakes in the running game so far this season.
They blocked a punt, allowed a fake punt for a first down, missed a kickoff return, missed an extra point, injured two kickers while making tackles on kickoffs and allowed two long punt returns to set up scores, including a game-winner. Rams basket in Week 3.
“We have to improve a lot,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It’s pretty obvious to everyone. It’s obvious to us, it’s been like that for a few weeks.
