Brett's Cowboys Corner

After making it to the Super Bowl, the 49ers did not expect to find themselves starting the year 3-4. Of course, they have been doomed by the injury bug, with a few recently we will mention later. But the elephant in the room is a calf injury to Christian McCaffrey which caused him to be a late scratch in the season opener against the Jets. The 9ers are struggling to move the ball as a passing offense and are having some issues as a defense in the redzone.

What it sounds like is the 49ers need a ‘get right’ game. Ah, nothing better to get right than playing a Dallas Cowboys who struggles as a run defense against anyone and has been criticized for a bland offense. Without to mention that the 49ers have been the dragon that Dallas can not defeat.

This will go one of two ways, the 49ers will get their rhythm back by dominating a very beatable Dallas team, that they never need help beating anyway. Or Dallas will finally conquer their fears, they will beat the boogeymen, they will slay the dragon that has stood in their way for the past three seasons.

OFFENSE

Kyle Shanahan: Year 8 as San Francisco’s head coach. Shanahan has two Super Bowl appearances in 4 of those years, but for some reason, 49er fans are calling for his job. How could this be? Well over his time, he has developed some exceptional playmakers and made a long-shot QB, a true starter. He has a system that he believes in and has had a lot of success in. But what happens when the system doesn’t work every time? Well as a head coach, you should adjust it, but San Francisco media makes comments that Shanahan doesn’t make those adjustments and decides errors are a fluke. Could we see this play out on Sunday night? Will he refuse to just win by running because he likes to throw it?

They Can Run the Mess Out the Football

Regardless of who is back there running the ball, the 9ers can always figure out how to run it. This is because of a creative run scheme but the offensive line moves together so smoothly as a unit. You will see them line up under center primarily when it comes to running, 76% of the time they run under center as a matter of fact.

Sunday there won’t be much need to throw, with the duo Jordan Mason and Issac Guerendo as the primary runners. Mason has been the standout, taking over for the injured McCaffrey and having himself a great game on Monday Night Football with 147 yards and a TD. Mason leads the NFL in broken tackles at 51, which is a great matchup for a Dallas defense that misses a league-high 16% of tackles. Also, Jordan Mason has 19 explosive runs (10+ yards a carry) with all but one game having a rush for 20+ yards.

The blocking has been great for SF, and two highlights are the tightend and full back. First, the 49ers have utilized motion at the 3rd-highest rate in the NFL this season (80.0%) and have averaged 6.3 yards per play when doing so. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk accounts for 45% of his plays being sent in motion. There’s usually a good indicator, the direction Juszczyk is running, that is where the ball is going…and you can’t do much to stop it. George Kittle will be utilized as a blocker but is questionable to play with a foot injury.

Purdy as a Passer

Brock Purdy has fallen back to Earth a bit. If anyone needs the ‘get right’ game, it’s Purdy. Nine touchdowns and seven interceptions are below expectations. He has trouble with his receivers getting open. Only three players have thrown into tight windows over 20% of the time. Purdy, Dak, and Kirk Cousins.

Purdy has benefited from a great offensive line, he has all the time in the world to throw in terms of the NFL, which currently sits at 3.10 seconds, Minnesota’s Sam Darnold is the only QB with a longer time to throw, with 3.11 seconds.

Where is the ball going? Brock Purdy has thrown to the intermediate (10-19 air yards) at the highest rate in the NFL this season and the highest rate in his career (32.9%). However, that has led to some ups and downs, 757 yards with 4 TDs and 2 INTs. Against Kansas City, Purdy was shut down in the middle, just 3 of his 11 intermediate attempts (27.3%) for 52 yards and an INT, resulting in his lowest completion rate in his entire career. But yet again, Dallas is the get-right game…The Cowboys have allowed the most yards per attempt against intermediate throws.

Purdy Has Struggled, But Has Playmakers

Deebo Samuel Jr.

San Francisco is expected to get their #1 receiver Deebo Samuel back, who has 13 missed tackles as a WR this season. He will be limited in his abilities since he is coming back from an illness which may impact his stamina. Deebo is also someone you have to watch out for in the backfield.

George Kittle

George Kittle will also be instrumental in short yardage as a pass catcher. A lot of times he stays for a block or a chip and then goes and runs his route, usually leaving him unaccounted for, which is why Dallas should consider keeping a linebacker to spy him. They don’t want to repeat last season, 3 catches 3 touchdowns, and a very memorable t-shirt.

Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall

With Brandon Aiyuk out for the season with an ACL tear, watch out for the return of Jauan Jennings, who had a huge 12 catch, 175-yard, 3 TD game against the Rams. If Jauan or Deebo can’t go then be on the lookout for Ricky Pearsall, the rookie slot receiver who was shot in the chest before the season, he will play a larger role in this game and make a statement on Sunday Night Football.

DEFENSE

Fred Warner: The best linebacker in the NFL has constantly been a nightmare to many teams but is Freddy Kruger against Dallas. The Cowboys have never had a run game against San Francisco, here is the reason why. Warner will shut down the run game, and be all over the field. He has the ability to cover as well. Warner has been targeted 169 times (2nd-most among linebackers) and recorded 8 interceptions (T-2nd-most among linebackers) when covering wide receivers since 2018. That’s right…wide receivers, not tight ends or running backs. Having the speed to keep up with receivers is incredible. He also feasts on something Dallas loves, the curl routes and the receivers running and sitting in soft spots of the defense. Warner lurks in those areas and waits for the QB to lock his eyes and begin the throwing motion, he jumps the route and makes an interception.

The defense has always been the strength of this team and they continue to play that way. Though they have been through a lot of injuries and that has caused some problems. The 49ers have struggled as a redzone defense, they give up a lot of over the middle passes. Missing two pieces, Talanoa Hufanga who is a hard-hitting safety, and Dre Greenlaw who is a great coverage linebacker. These two guys generally keep the 49ers defense sound. This is still a unit that wins them a lot of games and it’s easiest to just go through the levels of the defense.

San Francisco still has a physical defense and has made it hard for many teams but especially Dallas to score points on. This is also a defense that has forced a handful of turnovers. With an interception in all but one game, over the last 3 games the 49ers have 5 interceptions.

Defensive Line Moves with Bosa

Starting with the foundation of any defense, this defensive line moves great as a unit creating pressure. But, they have a clear defensive leader with Nick Bosa, when he goes fast, the rest of the guys go fast, and the same goes for when it’s a power rush. Watch for Bosa to line up on both ends of the line, this season he has more success rushing the left tackle, which will be interesting in Dallas as they will make the decision to either stick with Tyler Smith or go back to rookie Tyler Guyton coming off an injury. However, Bosa may want to rekindle his moments with Terrence Steele on the other side, who last year gave up 4 pressures against Bosa.

The defensive line doesn’t look to blitz too often, primarily because they don’t need to. They find plenty of success just rushing four guys and creating pressure. They have utilized a 4-man rush at the 3rd-highest rate in the NFL this season (77.9%) and have been successful doing so — their 37.1% pressure rate using four pass rushers ranks 6th-highest in the league. Javon Hargrave is the usual monster in the middle but is on IR, so Kevin Givens has stepped into the role and been a good rotational piece, but again the injury bug, he hasn’t practiced this week because of a groin.

Also, Leonard Floyd was a big off-season addition to the pass rush, he will create a lot of pressure with Bosa. Both have 3+ sacks this season. Floyd moves more at his own speed opposite of Bosa, which can create problems for any offensive line moving as a unit.

The Linebackers Have Injuries

The spotlight piece is on the best linebacker in the NFL Fred Warner. Other than what has been said about him, the rest of the unit has been lackluster. Though Warner is a threat in run defense, having the other linebackers a part of the game may allow your best chance ever at running against San Francisco.

The 49ers have struggled defending targets to the middle third this season, allowing the 6th-most yards per attempt (9.6) against such passes. Attacking the short-middle part of the field is where the weakness lies in San Fran, this is how you should move the ball. Which requires a lot of Lamb in the slot and motion.

A Physical Secondary, But There’s a Weak Link

San Francisco’s secondary has always given Dallas trouble, closing off the seams to tight ends and not allowing any yards after the catch. This unit plays with a lot of physicality, which is something that has been criticized of Dallas lacking as a team. And it looks like they found another physical safety with rookie Malik Mustapha.

But again, due to some injuries, there are some guys playing that you want to attack. Free Safety Ji’Ayir Brown has given up some plays over the middle, this is the guy you want to find in coverage. This may be a needed coming-out party for Jake Ferguson, as the 9ers will have to pull out a lot of stops to cover him.

A theory on why the middle gains happen is because they don’t allow plays outside the numbers and deep balls to gash them ever. They have had exceptional corner play outside, as Chavarious Ward is always playing at a high level, and Deommodore Lenoir moving to the outside has helped big time. Though this opens a big problem at the slot corner spot, Isaac Yiadom could be in for a long night if they match him up with Ceedee Lamb.

This is the ultimate test for Dallas, you have to slay the beast that has been your biggest problem over the past three years and has kept you from advancing in the post-season multiple years. This is the dragon you have to conquer, injuries on both sides or not. This is an important statement game for Dallas coming out of their BYE.