The 49ers left no doubt on Sunday night, thumping the visiting Dallas Cowboys 42-10 at Levi’s Stadium.
It was the kind of statement win that puts teams firmly in an elite tier that mot teams don’t reside in.
Buy 49ers TicketsHere are our takeaways from San Francisco’s fifth win of the year:
15 in a row
The 49ers have now tied their franchise record with 15 consecutive regular-season victories set in the 1989-90 seasons. Their last regular season loss was at home vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in Christian McCaffrey’s first game with the team.
Top class
The 49ers and Eagles are by themselves in the NFC’s elite tier. Dallas had a handful of blowout wins over bad teams that had them sniffing around San Francisco and Philadelphia, but it was clear Sunday night that the Cowboys belong in at least one tier below where the 49ers and Eagles reside. San Francisco outclassed their opponent Sunday night in every conceivable way, and hung 42 points on their vaunted defense. It was a drubbing that separates the great teams from the simply good ones.
Welcome back, Kittle
George Kittle has been largely absent from the 49ers’ passing attack this season, but that changed Sunday night. With the Cowboys focused so heavily on ensuring running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t beat them, Kittle found plenty of room to haul in three of his four targets for 67 yards and three touchdowns. He was also sensational as a run and pass blocker, per usual. The 49ers have so many stars that focusing on just one will surely open the door for another, and Kittle was the beneficiary Sunday.
Tough CMC yards
Dallas’ commitment to slowing down McCaffrey showed. He had only 51 yards on 19 carries and caught just two passes for 27 yards. McCaffrey still managed to post a touchdown though (his 14th consecutive game with at least one), and he had an effective outing by picking up tough yards inside. It wasn’t pretty, but McCaffrey did enough to help his team overcome his fumble deep in the red zone and pull out an easy victory.
Brock Purdy bounces back
Sunday’s game didn’t start great for Purdy. He had a nice first drive, but battled with some inaccuracy issues when the team got behind the sticks a couple times after that. He bounced back though and made some tremendous throws outside the numbers, and a great layered throw over a linebacker to Brandon Aiyuk in the middle of the field. Purdy finished Sunday night 17-of-24 with 251 yards and four touchdowns. His four TD passes are a career high. He might be the MVP frontrunner right now.
Have a day, Jordan Mason
Mason is the clear RB2 with Elijah Mitchell nursing a knee injury. He got carries early Sunday night and helped close the door on Dallas with a 26-yard touchdown run – his first of the year. He put together a really nice game with 10 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers’ backfield is very, very good and they should start trusting Mitchell to shoulder more of the load and take some of the onus off McCaffrey to do all the dirty work in the run game.
Micah Parsons neutralized
The 49ers threw the kitchen sink at Parsons and neutralized him for most of the night. He finished the game with zero pressures, zero QB hits and zero sacks. NBC credited him with one hurry. San Francisco didn’t leave him on an island often, knowing he’s capable of flipping the game on one play. They threw Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, multiple offensive linemen, misdirections and anything else they could toss his way to ensure he wasn’t going to have the impact he’s capable of having. It was a really excellent game plan from head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff.
